Through Your Eyes
by Captain-Confusion
Summary: A guardian falls out of her ship and lands in Puerto Angel. And Cortes and Dahlia know who exactly who she is...
1. Chapter One

Through your eyes

Chapter One

Hey, this is a Skyland fanfic I made.

Description: When a guardian who could be the most powerful seijin in Skyland falls from a patroller and lands in Puerto Angel, Mahad begins to notice strange behavior from Dahlia and Cortes. The girl, Evora, claims that the pirates ruthlessly murdered her parents. A darker side of the pirate rebellion is revealed, Dahlia's past is discussed, and the line between good and evil is blurred. WARNING: This is kind of dark. Kind of says bad things about Marcus Farrell, for those of you who like him a lot. Don't want to make anyone mad. I'm not implying that I hate the pirates or anything. I was just tossing ideas around. This takes place somewhere in the middle of season two about a month after Alice. Here it is. Chapter One of, Through Your Eyes.

_I long to see whatever truth lies beyond the door. But I know now that it is something I could not endure... _Anonymous-Truth and Lies

"I got you!" Cheng cried with excitement. Lena laughed and flopped down on the grass.Cheng came and sat next to her moments later. He tried to make conversation, but Lenawas distracted, staring up at the beautiful azure summer sky and the puffy white clouds that drifted overhead. She loved to just relax and stare off into nothingness, forget everything she'd endured, and just clear her mind of all unpleasant thoughts. Eleven year-old girls shouldn't have to deal with so much, she thought. But, fate had chosen her as itsvictim, and there was nothing she could do but follow along and fight the Sphere.

A dark shape in the sky startled her out of her trance. At first she thought it was a faraway ship, but as it came closer, she realized that it was the body of a girl.

"Cheng, look!" she said, jabbing him in the side with her elbow. He stopped talking and looked in the direction that Lena was pointing. "Someone's falling! We have to get Cortes or Mahad!" Cheng said. "No," Lena said. "We have to stay here and make sure she lands safely."

When the girl came into view, Lena focused on the energy from the sun. Concentrating, she managed to pull the girl down gently until she touched the ground. She had long blonde hair and was dressed in all black. She didn't seem older than Dahlia. And, weirdly enough, she looked like Dahlia too. Her eyes were closed, so she was obviously unconscious.

"Cheng, stay here and keep an eye on her. I'll go get help," Lena ordered. Cheng sighed and sat down next to the girl.

Lena ran as fast as she could, searching forMahad. She spotted him on a small ledge of stone. Dahlia was with him. "Mahad!" she called, running over to him. He stood up immediately, catching the tone of seriousness and urgency in Lena's voice.

"Yeah?" he said. "Mahad, a girl just fell from the sky!" she gasped, trying to catch her breath. Dahlia stood up, her eyes wide. "From the sky?" She wondered aloud. Lena nodded quickly, running off. Mahad and Dahlia followed behind her, as confused as she was.

They found the girl, standing up and muttering to herself. Her breaths were ragged and sharp, as if she were having difficulty breathing. Lena noticed something behind her and almost screamed. Cheng lay in the grass behind her, sprawled out and unconscious.

"Cheng!" Lena cried sadly. She started to run over. The girl turned to face her and held up a hand. Blue light shot from her hand and hit Lena, causing her to fall over. "Guardian! Don't let her get away!" Dahlia yelled. She thoughtthat this girl was familiar...

Lena rushed over to Cheng and knelt beside him while Mahad and Dahlia charged the girl. Surprisingly, she didn't fight back. She simply collapsed, allowing Mahad and Dahlia to pin her arms to the ground.

"All right, guardian. How did you get here?" Mahad hissed furiously. The girl's body jerked and twitched a few times. "I—I… Let—me go!" She demanded. Mahad half-laughed, "No way are we letting _you _

go."

* * *

Cheng was fine, only slightly bruised and disoriented when he came to. The guardian on the other hand, was very badly injured, almost dead. 

"Where do you think she came from?" Dahlia asked Mahad later that day. "I don't know. Maybe if she's important enough, we can trade her for my mother," he replied. "Mahad, it didn't work with Oslo, and it won't work with her either. Besides, it's doubtful that Oslo, let alone, any Sphere member would trade a guardian for one of the most dangerous rebels in Skyland."

Mahad sighed. "I guess your right. But, anyway, I have to go check on her. Cortes said she's

breathing normally and she might wake up soon."

He left the room without another word and went to the room that they decided to keep the guardian in. It was similar to the room they held Alice in, but more secure and with a bed. At first they didn't deem the bed necessary, but, after all, she was dying.

He entered the room with caution, holding the door in case he needed to slam it shut. The girl was just coming to, rubbing her eyes and rolling over. She suddenly jerked up and faced Mahad. The first features he noticed were her perfectly round deep blue eyes. They were beautiful, but somehow cold and filled with hatred. He could almost see past her eyes to the disturbing and twisted thoughts zooming back and forth in her head.

"Let me go, filth!" she bellowed. Her voice was deep and hoarse, despite her age. "I am _not _letting you go, especially after what you did to Cheng," he said firmly. "That's nothing compared to what _you _did to my family!"

Mahad rolled his eyes. "Here we go again. Did Oslo by any chance tell you that we did

something horrible to your family?" he said cockily. The girl snorted. "You pirates killed

my parents in front of me! And when you tried to kill me, I ran! That idiot Oslo has

nothing to do with this!"

Although Mahad agreed about Oslo's idiocy, he didn't believe

that any of the pirates would ever do such a thing. Mahad shook his head and slammed

the door shut.

"You filthy creature! Come back here! I'm not finished!"

* * *

"Her name is Evora (ee-VORE-uh) She's the youngest guardian to graduate from theacademy in history. When she isn't off on a mission, she's training with Diwan or Oslo.She is an exceptionally powerful seijin, maybe even more powerful than Oslo himself," the Vector said. 

He had taken her fingerprint and scanned it to find a match. It was an older method, but it worked just as well as anything else.

"Did it say anything about relatives?" Mahad asked curiously. "She is an orphan." Mahad shuddered. Maybe she was telling the truth about her parents being murdered. Or maybe it was all some sick lie she was making to try and escape. That's what it was. A lie. Mahad was just being gullible. Then again, he was usually the one defending strangers and trying to convince others that they weren't from the Sphere.

"We're holding one of the most powerful seijins?" Lena said in amazement. Vector nodded quickly. "We better find a tighter, more secure cell to keep her in. There's no telling what she could do," Lena said. "Good thinking, Lena," Cortes chimed in. "I'll see if we have any better cells."

Everyone left the room but Lena. A cold loneliness crept over her, giving her the urge to follow, but she had a bad feeling. The very idea of this girl made her shudder. She could sense her power and strength from the other end of the block. It was worse than Oslo's. She knew that this seijin was abnormally powerful—and dangerous.

_Lena…_ The words suddenly came to mind. They weren't hers. Another seijin was making telepathic contact, and her voice was so familiar. It sounded like—her mother's. Lena's mood brightened as she tried to speak back to her mother.

The scene suddenly changed. She was back in Babylonia. Mila stood in front of her, smiling happily. She gathered Lena in her arms and began crying joyfully. At last, they were reunited. But Mila suddenly stopped and jerked back.

Lena could see something in her eyes that she'd never seen before. She tried to take in a deep breath but her lungs refused to expand. She felt as though she were being smothered. Soon enough, she was on the ground begging for mercy. And all the while, Mila was laughing at Lena, who was pathetically choking and crying.

Lena looked up pleadingly at her mother, but it wasn't her mother any more. It was a tall man, with shaggy black hair and brown eyes. Lena didn't know him but she automatically recognized him as her father.

"Dad!" she cried. He glared cruelly at her. She watched in horror as he reached towards her, trying to get her. She ran, sobbing and panting hysterically. Laughing madly, he chased behind her. Lena collapsed to the ground helplessly and looked up to see her father. He lifted her up off the ground and pulled a gun of some sort off of his hilt. "No!" Lena screamed. He aimed carefully. Lena looked into her father's eyes in horror, but they weren't his. They were cold blue and dark. A young-adult woman, Dahlia's age, stood in front of her. She flashed her an evil smile, then vanished into thin air.

Babylonia faded, slowly changing back to the room in the Vector's lighthouse.

"Lena!" Mahad said loudly. He shook her shoulder. "Mahad, I… I just had a vision. It was horrible," she mumbled. Mahad could see the tears welling in her eyes. "Mom and Dad were there. But they weren't themselves. They—they tried to kill me. I know they would never do anything like that, but it felt so real," she sobbed. Mahad glared hatefully.

"Vector," he said sternly. "Evora is using her powers to get into Lena's mind. Is there a way you can stop her?" Vector nodded his head. "We need to keep her isolated in a dark room with no sunlight at all whatsoever."

Lena shivered. The first part of her vision where she saw her mother seemed more like a dream. But seeing her father about to kill her was different. It was more like a memory, as if it had happened to her. Of course, it couldn't have. Her father loved her. And he would never murder someone, guardian or not. Lena left the room and decided to take a nap. She needed to get as far away from the girl as possible.

* * *

Evora began to focus again. She could use her powers without sunlight, but barely. After five long minutes of concentration, she decided that there was no sense in trying to escape. She was going to be trapped here until she was given the chance to attack. 

The door swung open with a loud screech. She stood up and glared at Mahad, Cortes, Dahlia, and Wayan. They were all holding weapons.

"You're coming with us," Cortes said firmly. Evora laughed. "Typical pirates! Imprison the guardians and torture us until we're mad. Typical, typical, typical," she half-laughed.

Cortes froze. He tried to avoid Evora's cold blue eyes but couldn't help but stare into them. They both knew what had happened all those years ago. And Cortes realized that Evora had every right to be furious with him. He felt guilty. His actions had turned her into a monster. A deranged, unbelievably powerful monster. Of course, Marcus Farell had been responsible for most of it, but Cortes and the other pirates had helped. Evora gave Cortes a malevolent grin.

"What's the matter Cortes? Feeling—guilty?" she taunted. He forced himself to look at something else in the room. "Take her!" he ordered. They each grabbed a different part of her and dragged her from that room to the most secure and isolated room in Puerto Angel, located at the bottom of the block. They opened the thick steel door and shoved her in rudely.

"I'll have revenge, Cortes! I will!" she cried furiously. Dahlia turned away from her as quickly as possible. "Come back, sister! Don't you want to help me?" she called.

Mahad eyed Dahlia closely but she ignored him. Evora charged the door but Dahlia slammed it in her face. "Why do you think she called you sister?" Mahad asked. Dahlia shook her head. "I don't—don't really know," she stammered. She walked ahead of him. He could tell she was hiding something…


	2. Chapter Two

Hello people. Here's chapter two.

Chapter Two

_We just can't stop believing 'cos we have to try. We can rise above the truth and the lies... _Within Temptation-See Who I Am

"We need to find out how she got here," Cortes said, almost slamming his water onto the table. Wayan had been sitting there in the tavern for over an hour, discussing the situation with Cortes. "We can't tell Mahad and Lena about what happened. They wouldn't believe us. And now isn't the best time," Wayan replied. Cortes nodded.

"We need Lena to look into her memory just enough to see what happened to Evora." Lena suddenly came and stood next to Cortes.

"The sun might be setting soon. We should do it now before it's too dark for me to use my powers," she said. Cortes and Wayan nodded at each other and escorted Lena to the steel room where the Vector and Mahad awaited.

"Now, listen. When you read her thoughts, only go far enough to see what happened before she landed here," the Vector instructed. Lena nodded. "I'll be here if you need me," Mahad said.

The door swung open. Evora lay unconscious on the floor. They had given her special medication to put her to sleep while Lena did this. She felt uncomfortable searching through someone's memories against their will, but didn't object when she realized that Evora had done the same. Evora had done worse. She had used Lena's memories to hurt her. That really _was _wrong.

Lena sat down in front of her and began to search her memories. Pictures and images flashed before her. So far she could only see the events that had taken place that day. When she reached the memories of Evora hurting Cheng, she probed a little further and watched.

* * *

"We're going to crash!" Evora cried. Diwan selfishly ran off. Evora knew she was going to take her patroller and leave. "Wait!" Evora cried. The ship suddenly rumbled. She had to escape before it exploded and killed her. 

Fearfully, she smashed one of the windows and jumped out. As she fell, something hard and metal hit her head. The pain was unbelievable and made it hard to use her powers. She tried to slow her fall but the pain was too much. She lost consciousness as she fell, but as she faded, she prayed that a block or a ship would be there below her.

* * *

Dahlia wrapped her arms around Evora. "I'm so glad I get to see you again. Mommy's not going to let me go with her on the mission," Evora said sadly. Dahlia winced. "I wish she didn't work for the Sphere. Or Daddy. I wish they were pirates," Dahlia said. Evora half-laughed. 

"I'm going to school in a month," Evora said. Dahlia grimaced. "I'll miss you. Once you're a guardian, you won't be able to spend time with us," she murmured. "I will. I love you sis," she hugged Dahlia tightly and let go.

* * *

Lena jerked back, startled by the memory. She was shocked. Was this true? Was Evora Dahlia's—sister? Lena left the room quickly without looking back. 

"So, what happened?" Mahad asked. "The ship she was traveling and was about to explode. Diwan abandoned her and took off so she had to jump out the window. While she was jumping she hit her head. And—that's it," Lena blurted.

Mahad gave her a worried look but shrugged and headed off. Lena wanted to tell him about the other memory but she was afraid.

Mahad caught up to Cortes, who seemed to be avoiding him. "Why does Evora keep saying that you killed her parents?" he demanded. "I'm not sure, Mahad. She's not a normal guardian. She wants us to believe her and let her escape." Mahad narrowed his eyes.

"She's nothing like Alice, though. I can tell she's not just making it up. I— " "Listen Mahad! That girl is dangerous! I don't want you talking about her anymore!" Cortes said harshly. Mahad stopped, stunned by Cortes's sudden anger. "Sorry," he mumbled, kicking a rock next to him.

"What's _his _problem?" Lena said. Mahad shook his head and ran off without a reply. Lena knew that this girl wasn't normal. She had secrets about the pirates. Secrets that would be revealed.

* * *

"I'm so mad at Cortes right now!" Mahad hissed. "Why, is he treating you like a kid again?" Lena asked. Mahad shook his head. 

"He's treating me like I'm blindfolded. No matter how much I beg, he won't take the blindfold off," he said. Lena shrugged. "I'm sure he's hiding it for a good reason," she said. Mahad shook his head. "Something is up with that Evora girl. And I'm going to find out what."

Lena sighed. She couldn't tell him now. He would never leave Cortes alone if she told him about the memory. She had to wait for the right time. Eventually, the secrets would be revealed, and everything would be better, she thought. But she was wrong. The secrets would only make things worse.

* * *

"Can I talk to you, sis?" Evora asked. Dahlia had been given the task of bringing food to her cell. "Shut up," she snapped. Evora pouted. "Don't you remember the good times, Dahlia? When we were kids? Before school? Mom and Dad loved us both you know, even if you weren't a seijin. Why did you have to join the pirates? We could have been a great team. We still can. I can convince Oslo to let you join me. After all, he is very negotiable in his sleep," she joked. 

Dahlia didn't reply. "You and I can beat Oslo together. We can rule Skyland. We can do anything we want. I'm becoming more powerful than Oslo. We could be great, you know. All you have to do is say yes. You—" "I said shut up!" Dahlia yelled.

She left the room, slamming the door behind her. Tears welled in her eyes as she headed back home. When she got home she climbed the stairs to the second floor. Her roommate was fast asleep on the sofa, as usual. The wood creaked under her feet as she entered her bedroom. Everything was completely silent except for the sound of her own breathing.

"Evora, what have we done to you?" she sobbed, cupping her hands over her face as tears streamed down. She noticed someone staring at her from the window of the house across from hers. Lena. Dahlia shook her head. Lena knew her secret. Lena knew that Dahlia and Evora were sisters.

* * *

Mahad stamped his feet angrily, and then stopped for fear that he would wake Lena. She was fast asleep. She rolled over onto her side. Of all the secrets Cortes had, Mahad was sure that this was the biggest. And he had a feeling that Lena knew something and wouldn't tell him. It felt so terrible, being blindfolded when everyone could see perfectly fine. Even Lena was starting to see through her blindfold. Why was Mahad, the son of Marcus Farrell, being kept in the dark, he thought. His father obviously had something to do with this. And he knew that his father wouldn't have wanted Cortes to keep him in the dark. Would he? 

Lena moaned and rolled over. "Stop!" she cried. Mahad could tell she was having nightmares again. She'd been having them a lot lately. Each time she woke up crying or screaming, and Mahad would always gather her in his arms and comfort her until she fell asleep again. But tonight was different. He could tell this was beyond a nightmare. Evora was in her thoughts again.

"Lena, wake up!" Mahad shouted. Lena jerked awake, sobbing. "Mahad. I had the vision again," she mumbled. "It's okay Lena. You'll be fine. I have to go talk to Cortes," he said, getting up and leaving the house.

When he got to Cortes's house he saw that Dahlia was already there. Mahad knocked on the hard wooden door three times and waited for someone to answer. Dahlia opened the door quickly. Her eyes were red and puffy. She had been crying.

"I have to talk to Cortes," Mahad said sternly, nearly shoving Dahlia out of his way. Cortes was sitting in a chair at the corner of the room.

"Cortes, you're not telling me something. You have a secret," he said sharply. Cortes sighed. "You're right. I do have a secret. But I already said that I wasn't going to tell you." Mahad glared. "It has to do with my father, doesn't it?" "Mahad, I—" "Doesn't it?" Mahad interrupted. Cortes rubbed the skin on his forehead.

"Yes." "And don't you think he would have wanted me to know?" Cortes sighed. "He made me promise I wouldn't tell you until you were older. But I guess your old enough now. Sit down over there, I'll tell you," he said, gesturing to a sofa on the other side of the room.

Mahad plopped down on the sofa and stretched his legs out, relieved that Cortes would finally take the blindfold off. Dahlia came and sat next to him.

"Mahad, you see. I'm not sure how to explain this. Your father… Dahlia's parents… Mahad, I—Mahad?" Cortes leaned forward to get a closer look at Mahad.

"He fell asleep," Dahlia said dryly. Mahad began to snore.

* * *

The next morning Cortes promised he'd tell Mahad the secret, after they went to feed Evora and check up on her. Mahad stood behind Cortes as he opened the door. Evora was wide-awake. Cortes tossed a tray of food. It landed on the floor next to her. 

"Hello, Cortes. Good morning. How many guardians have you killed today?" she challenged. Cortes ignored her. "Is your friend Marcus Farrell going to help? Are you going to slaughter them all, or are you going to shoot them?"

Mahad lunged at her, but Cortes stopped him. "Never say anything about my father, you liar!" Mahad bellowed.

"Mahad, contain yourself," Cortes warned. "No! You don't ever say anything about my parents!" he yelled. "Stop it Mahad!" Cortes ordered. "She's a liar, Cortes. She's lying about my father!"

Cortes turned away, hurt. "She isn't lying Mahad."


	3. Chapter Three

I don't have much to say except enjoy the next chapter. Bye.

Chapter Three

_When we start killing, it's all coming down right now. From the nightmare we created, I want to be awakened somehow… _Within Temptation-The Howling

"This is all a confusing story. Understand, things were different back when all this happened. We didn't want to hurt anyone," Cortes said plaintively. Lena and Mahad exchanged worried glances.

"My mother used to be a pirate," Dahlia explained. "So was my father. And, one day, he was killed in battle. After that, my mother didn't want anything to do with pirates, so she went to work for the Sphere, where she fell in a love with a man named Harron. They had a child and named her Evora. I loved my sister. We used to play together all day and never get tired. When she went to the academy, she changed so much. I ran away from home when I realized how evil the Sphere truly was," Dahlia told them.

"Dahlia's mother lived on another block when she was one of us, so she didn't know about Puerto Angel. But then she and her husband discovered it while they were taking Evora to guardian school. We kidnapped them and tried to keep them hostage, but they escaped the cell we were holding them in. Marcus had killed her mother before I could stop him. Her father had already killed one of our crewmembers. I had no choice but to kill him myself. When I found Marcus, he had Evora trapped in a corner. We weren't going to kill her. Marcus would never kill a child. We would keep her on Puerto Angel and never let her leave. But she escaped. We weren't worried, because we knew she was too young to understand how to give the coordinates of Puerto Angel to anyone."

Mahad and Lena were completely silent. _My father murdered someone… _The words echoed over and over in Mahad's mind. He couldn't believe this. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be. He stood up and ran out of Cortes's house.

"My dad's a murderer," Lena said coldly, hardly believing it herself. "I'll go find Mahad," Dahlia said, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. The only two people left in the room were Lena and Cortes.

"Lena," he said softly. "Your father was a good man. He only did it to protect his family. He only did it to protect us."

Lena shook her head and ran out of the house, silently weeping. She ran to the Vector's lighthouse and sat on his doorstep. She didn't want him to come out and talk to her. She just needed to get away from everyone else. She needed to relax and try to clear her thoughts like she always did. But today it wasn't working. She had always wondered about her past. She had always wondered if her father was really as amazing as they said. Now she knew the truth. Not everyone was perfect. Lena was sure she would kill someone in battle some day. And she dreaded the day every moment.

* * *

"You're not going, Mahad," Cortes said. Mahad waved his hand, as if to push his words away. "Well I'm not staying here," he shot back. Cortes glared. "You're staying here! That's an order!" he yelled. Mahad turned to face him. "I'm sick of you treating me like a kid." "You've been irresponsible in the past. It's for your own good," he said defensively. "You're not my father." Mahad stormed out of the room and headed for the Hyperion. 

Cortes sighed heavily. He knew it would be hard to tell Mahad the truth. "Dahlia," he called. She entered the room quickly. "Yes?" she asked. Cortes sighed again. "Go sneak into the Hyperion. I can't let Mahad go off alone. There are going to be search parties all over Skyland." Dahlia nodded and ran off. She made it into the ship just in time, before Mahad had a chance to take off. She felt a sudden tug in her stomach that told her this was a bad idea.

She opened her mouth to say his name and let him know that she was on board but stopped when she realized he would never listen to her. Mahad had always been stubborn, but she could persuade him to anything. But now she knew she couldn't. Now he had a reason to be stubborn. He was hurt. The ship lifted off the ground and took off into the empty nothingness ahead of them. For what seemed like hours (and might have actually been hours), the Hyperion flew straight forward.

Dahlia was puzzled by that fact that Mahad was cooling his anger with a leisure fly. She dropped that theory when the ship jerked left. Mahad was obviously very upset. He steered the ship right, halted it, forced it upward at a ninety-degree angle, and then let it drop straight down. Dahlia feared that he would let the ship keep falling, but he stopped it just as they were about to crash into a small block of floating earth. The Hyperion suddenly veered right at a sickening speed. Mahad finally gave up and began flying at a slower pace.

Dahlia had been sitting crouched in a corner behind one of the seats. It was hard to stay hidden and stay upright at the same time. She relaxed her tensed muscles and just enjoyed the scenery. Mahad's temper would cool eventually, and he would take them home. Hopefully. Dahlia wasn't expecting Mahad to swerve left.

She fell forward and cried out as she hit the hard floor. Mahad instantly halted and turned in his seat. "Dahlia?" he said, surprised. "Cortes told me to come with you. He said it wasn't safe for you to be alone."

Mahad rolled his eyes. "Well, I could really care less what _Cortes _thinks." Dahlia sighed. "He was only telling you the truth. You can't hate him for telling the truth." Mahad knew she was right but didn't want to admit it.

"Well… We can head home in the morning. I'm exhausted. I'm going to put the Hyperion on autopilot while I sleep, okay?" he asked. Dahlia nodded. "I'm going to sleep too," she said. They fell asleep within ten minutes.

"What? What's going on?" Mahad mumbled dazedly, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. The wind howled outside, causing the Hyperion to tilt back and forth. When Mahad looked closer he almost screamed.

"Dahlia!" he cried. Dahlia slowly sat up. Her eyes widened at the sight of the billowing mass of swirling clouds ahead of them. "We have to get the Hyperion out of here, now!" Mahad cried. Dahlia stood up and looked ahead. The storm was getting closer, chewing everything in its path.

Mahad tried to steer the Hyperion but for some reason it was locked on autopilot. "Mahad, come on!" Dahlia yelled. "I can't take the ship off autopilot!" he cried. Dahlia knew they wouldn't get away in time. "Hang on!" Mahad called back.

Within seconds, the Hyperion was swept into the massive vortex. It flipped and spun out of control. Mahad and Dahlia screamed. Clouds and debris swirled around them in the violent storm. Mahad thought he saw half of a patroller and a few brigs. This storm had obviously come a long way.

Mahad and Dahlia thought they were safe. Then, one of the windows crashed and broke open. Shards of glass flew out in all directions. Something large and heavy had crashed into the Hyperion. It suddenly flew backwards, flung from the enormous funnel. Mahad and Dahlia screamed one last time as the ship plummeted down into nothingness.

* * *

"I don't know. It's not like Mahad to just go off like this. He should be back by now," Lena said worriedly. Cortes sighed. "I'm just hoping he didn't run into trouble," he muttered bitterly. 

Lena opened her mouth to say something else, but the words died in herthroat. "It's been an entire day. Where could he have gone?" Cortes grumbled, more to himself than to Lena.

He now regretted telling Mahad the truth. Perhaps he had run away and didn't intend on coming back. The very thought of it made Cortes grimace. Mahad had deserved the truth—but did he deserve to have it told to him in such a way that it scarred him mentally and emotionally?

"You don't think he's been captured, do you?" Lena asked fearfully. Cortes shook his head. "No. He'll probably be back soon, Lena," he lied, avoiding eye contact with her. _More lies…_

"Lena, why don't you go see if Cheng needs any help fixing his laptop?" Cortes suggested. Lena seemed disappointed, but she did not protest or complain. She practically ran from the room, obviously seeing that Cortes needed time alone.

As the painful memories of killing and death penetrated his mind, a tear began to trickle down his cheek.

* * *

Lena slammed the door loudly behind her. "What's wrong, Lena?" Cheng put down his tools and approached her. Based on her expression, Cheng could tell that she would burst into tears at any moment if he said the wrong thing. She had already told the entire story to him, although Cortes had begged her not to. He seemed rather disturbed and bothered by this, but he promised not to tell Cortes. 

"Lena? Are you okay?" Cheng said softly, slowly reaching a hand to grab her shoulder. Before his hand came within a foot of her shoulder, she slapped it away. "No, Cheng. I'm not okay," she replied plaintively.

Cheng could see her fighting back tears. Unsure of what to say next, he turned back to his working table and ignored her. "I was going to come in here and talk to you, but I don't think I can right now," she said finally. Cheng waved goodbye to her as she slipped out the door and closed it gently behind her.

For a moment there was nothing but silence.

Cheng nearly threw his tools in the air when the door suddenly burst open. "What?" he demanded. Lena was panting and shaking her head wildly.

"The cell door is open! Evora is gone!"

Quick Note: Sorry, I'm not sure if my science was correct in the tornado scene. Normally, the warm rising air in tornados comes from the ground and goes up into the thunderstorm, but since the Earth is no longer intact, I'm not sure if it's possible. Bye. Watch for chapter four.


	4. Chapter Four

Hello! This is the next chapter. I don't know how many more there will be. Enjoy!

Chapter Four

_We all live, we all die. That does not begin to justify you. It's not what it seems, not what you think. No I must be dreaming. It's only in my mind, not real life. No I must be dreaming… _Evanescence-Bleed

Dahlia awoke to the feeling of something cold and wet gently dabbing patches of stinging burning skin. She slowly opened her eyes. A woman with shockingly dark skin and almost no clothing stood over her, holding a ragged wet cloth.

"Asake. A Nohanel Panua. Alatrostiva a sijen?" she said in a questioning tone. Dahlia raised an eyebrow, then looked over to see Mahad lying on the ground next to her.

"Do you speak English?" Dahlia asked the woman. A look of sudden understanding crossed the woman's face, and she left the room.

Dahlia took a moment to observe her surroundings. She and Mahad were in a small circular hut, surrounded by jars of strange concoctions and plants. The roof of the hut had several holes and gaps in the wood. Sunlight filtered in through them. How long had they been unconscious for, Dahlia wondered.

A man suddenly entered the room, pulling a long dry grass curtain open.

"A welcome. I a am Izaro. I do not a speak the you're a language—ver—very—very a well," he stammered.

"I am Dahlia, and this is my friend Mahad," she said slowly. Izaro gave them a gap-toothed smile. "Can you tell us what happened?" Dahlia asked. "Yeah, where are we?" Mahad chimed in.

"You a are a in Nohanel Panua. The wind gods tried a to kill your a strange bird-like cre—creature." Dahlia and Mahad exchanged confused glances. "Bird-like creature? You mean my ship?" Mahad asked.

Izaro frowned and shrugged his shoulders. "I a do not know the terms you a prefer. Oh, and I was a have important a question to ask. Do a you—are a you spirit people?" he asked.

Dahlia searched her mind for an answer. "Spirit people. Please describe them to me?" she asked. "A spirit people have the gifts of a the sun gods. They a can use a the sunlight in a many different the ways," he tried to explain.

Dahlia suddenly understood. "Mahad, I think he's asking if we're seijin." Mahad nodded. "No. We are not spirit people, but we know a few." Izaro flashed another smile.

Dahlia tried to sit up. Pain surged through every muscle and bone. Her breaths turned into sharp pained gasps. She quickly relaxed her muscles again, allowing her body to gently fall backward.

"You should a not move. You are a bo—both badly a injured. Well, I a must leave. Our a healers should will a return a momentarily. Go—od bye," he said, leaving the room as quickly as he had come.

"I'm not sure, but I don't think we're anywhere _near _Puerto Angel, Dahlia."

* * *

"Where could she have gone?" Lena asked herself silently, staring at the horizon as the sun began to lower. Splashes of dramatic red, yellow, and orange color covered the clouds near the sun, like paint an artist had carelessly smeared over his work. It was a comforting sight—it meant that Evora wouldn't be able to use her powers in a few hours. She had always loved sunsets. Mahad, however, never really took the time to appreciate nature. _Mahad… _

The very thought of him made her throat ache. There were only two possibilities: either he had been captured by the Sphere, or he had been killed in some horrible crash. She knew he would have returned home by now if he had run away.

"Mahad, you always knew what do in situations like this. What should I do?" she asked the dry air. Talking to an imaginary version of her brother wasn't going to help, she decided.

Cortes had ordered her to stay inside and keep the doors locked, and now she was bored as ever. Lena was always on edge, expecting Evora to leap out from nowhere and attack at any moment. Luckily, no ships had taken off in the past few hours, which meant that she couldn't have gotten off the block.

Lena was unsure of her intentions. Knowing her twisted mind, there was no telling what she could do.

"Waiting for me to come and kill you?" Lena spun around in her seat. As if Evora had heard her thoughts—and actually may have—she approached Lena.

"How did you get in?" Lena demanded. "Your upstairs window."

Adrenaline began coursing through Lena's veins. "You know, I didn't come here to kill you—just to get you out of my way."

Without warning, Evora reached a glowing bright blue hand up. Lena felt something strange buzzing through her like electricity. She gathered as much energy from the sunlight streaming through the window as she could and shot it back at Evora. She seemed to stop the mass of glowing bright energy in midair and backfire it.

Each time it shot between them, it grew a little. In a matter of seconds, the ball of energy was as large as Lena's front door. The two girls stared into each other's eyes furiously. Evora showed no sign of weakness. Lena, however, felt as if she'd collapse to the floor at any moment. She knew she couldn't hold on forever…

Then, something amazing happened. Lena pushed into the energy, imagining it striking Evora and sending her flying back, but Evora did the same. It burned through both of them like fire. Lena and Evora fell to the floor, unconscious.

* * *

Evora watched as Robin fell to the floor, clutching his head and crying, "Oh, oh, it hurts! What did you do to me?" The tiniest giggle escaped her lips, but her smile quickly faded when she heard approaching footsteps. Master Nithan shook his head disapprovingly. 

"Evora, that is no way to treat a student. Come here," he barked. She stood, petrified with sudden fear. "No," she murmured. Master Nithan crossed his arms, angered by her defiance. "You come here right now!" he yelled. "No! I won't go with you!" Evora hissed through gritted teeth.

Master Nithan stomped over, but stopped halfway at the sight of her glowing fingertips. "Don't come any closer," she growled, threateningly holding up a hand. Robin scrambled up to his feet and darted to the back of the room. "I don't want to hurt you, but right now it seems that I have no other choice," Master Nithan said.

Blue light shot from Evora's fingertips and hit Nithan, pulling him up off the floor. "Leave me alone, and I'll leave you alone!" Evora cried. "Control yourself! Control yourself, Evora!" Master Nithan shrieked.

Finally, Evora let the harnessed energy escape from her fingertips. She carefully lowered Master Nithan to the floor and fell to her knees before him. "I'm sorry, master. It won't happen again." _Yes it will, _she thought to herself with a mental laugh………

* * *

Evora walked down the hallway slowly and casually. As she walked, several pairs of eyes followed her. One child whispered, "Freak," to his friend, and another shouted, "Don't come anywhere near us!" Evora forced a smile. 

"Don't worry. I would never hurt any of you," she said reassuringly.

"After what you did to Robin, I find that hard to believe," a teenaged girl said angrily.

She, along with three boys, came over and stood in Evora's path. She stopped walking and looked the girl in the eye. "Excuse me, I need to get by," she said. The girl snorted.

Suddenly, something hit Evora in the back of the head. She clumsily staggered and fell. Her body hit the hard marble floor with a loud smack. Before Evora had time to stand up, or even speak, something struck her in the stomach.

The air exploded from her lungs and her stomach clenched in a ball, threatening to heave up her lunch at any moment. She felt something repeatedly hitting her face. All she could see were bright flashing lights. After being kicked repeatedly in the back, she could hardly feel anything.

"Please! Stop!" she cried, sputtering blood. The girl gave her a final kick in the chest, then walked off, laughing quietly.

Evora spent what seemed like hours just lying there on the hallway floor, blinking away spots, tasting blood. Her stomach suddenly heaved and she gagged, and almost everything she had eaten that day came spilling out onto the floor in front of her. The putrid smell was unbearable, so she rolled onto her side. Every part of her screamed with pain at the slightest movement. Evora prayed that someone—anyone—would eventually find her and help her………

* * *

"I think it's time for her to "graduate". We feel that she might be a danger to the other students. I think she would be better off with you as her personal trainer," Master Nithan explained. Oslo nodded in agreement. 

"Very well. I will take her tomorrow night." The final words echoed in Evora's ears.

She kicked the wall angrily. It seemed that as life carried on, it only became worse. First her parents were killed, then she was taken to the hell that was guardian school, where she was overworked, constantly yelled at and punished, and now, beaten by other students. Now, she was going off to train with Oslo, the biggest idiot in Skyland. He was an insult to seijins everywhere—no, he was an insult to nature.

Nonetheless, Evora left school the next evening. No one bothered to say goodbye. She entered the Monolith that night. The entire ship was full of vast large rooms, something Evora had grown to hate over the years. "Get used to it," she said to herself. She knew that she'd be spending a lot of time there...

* * *

"Mommy, I'm going to miss you," Evora said sadly. Her mother placed a hand on her head and ruffled her hair comfortingly. "You'll be fine, dear," she said sweetly. "I know you'll succeed." 

Somehow her words weren't comforting, not even the slightest bit.

"Mommy, I thought there weren't any blocks here," she said, suddenly noticing the block below them. Her mother frowned, coming to the window to see for herself. As Evora had said, there was a block below them.

"That's strange," she muttered. "There weren't supposed to be any blocks for miles. Unless…"

* * *

"Don't move!" the tall angry-looking man yelled. Evora hid behind her mother's legs, peeking around to watch. The strange man held a gun, aiming directly at her mother. 

"Marcus Farell. It's been a long time. Can't we talk this over?" Caroline said arrogantly. Marcus didn't move or flinch even the slightest bit.

"Don't… Move…" Caroline smirked. Evora could only stare, petrified with fear. Millions of thoughts swam through her head at a dizzying pace. She was terrified, not quite sure what to do or believe anymore. She was only a child after all.

She darted out form behind her mother and ran as fast as her legs would carry her. Marcus didn't seem to notice. Caroline sighed. "You know..."

* * *

"Let my husband and I go or he dies!" Caroline hissed, holding tightly onto the young man, aiming a gun at his head. Marcus sighed. 

"Very well. Let go of Wayan now," he said.

The boy, Wayan, ran over to Marcus and stood next to him. "Go," Marcus said to Caroline.

Evora was shocked. It was as if her mother had forgotten her existence. She ran off quickly, not noticing her.

Evora looked at Marcus and suddenly noticed something. He was pulling out his gun again. Eye glued, she watched as he aimed it up and fired…

Caroline let out a deafening shriek as she fell forward. "No!" Evora cried, bolting up from her hiding place. She ran over to Marcus and grabbed onto his arm. He looked down and grabbed for her, but she slipped out of his reach.

Evora could only concentrate on running. Running, and escaping this horrible place. The sound of Marcus bounding behind her forced her to run faster. She was running so fast she felt that her legs would give at any moment. She dashed around the corner of the narrow hallway, only to see a dead end ahead of her.

"No!" she cried, turning back to see Marcus. He shoved her rudely into the corner.

"Stay there or you'll end up like your mother!" he growled. Evora sobbed and covered her eyes. She sensed the sudden presence of another person.

"Marcus. Did you—" "Yes, Cortes. I killed her. I—I didn't have a choice." There was nothing but pure silence for a moment.

"Who's this?" The other man, Cortes, asked. "I think this is Dahlia's sister. She—" "Where are my Mommy and Daddy?" Evora interrupted. Cortes gulped, unsure of how to explain it to her.

"They're dead," he said softly, a hint of shame in his voice.

* * *

Lena jerked awake, her eyes darting back and forth. She looked at the window and could see only stars and the faint glow of the moon. She rubbed her head, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Evora had snuck into her house, they had fought, and then… Then what? 

Lena wondered if all those strange scenes she had witnessed were from Evora's memories, or if they were just illusions. They had all seen so real. They had all _felt _so real. She had seen them from Evora's point of view, through her eyes…

* * *

"Good a morning, friends," Izaro said. Mahad opened his eyes and tried to focus and adjust to the lighting. Dahlia looked as if she had been awake for hours. 

"Would a you two like a come a see our home a?" "Yes. We would love to," Dahlia said, before Mahad

had a chance to speak. He rolled his eyes at her.

"Very a well. A follow me."

Mahad was bored to death as they passed by hut after hut and tent after tent, but he didn't complain. Dahlia, on the other hand, was ecstatic and excited to hear whatever Izaro had to say, despite his terrible English.

They finally stopped at the bottom of a hill and took a break.

"Next we a will see Senaceanas a." Mahad sighed. "What is Senaceanas?" Dahlia asked, fascinated. "It is a the—the a home of a the water gods."

Mahad snorted. Izaro constantly raved about the beloved sun gods, and the sacred water and fire gods. He laughed each time Izaro mentioned them, but Dahlia held back and pretended to believe him.

They stood up and began climbing up the hill. Mahad kept slipping and sliding on the loose earth. By the time they reached a flat piece of land, he was covered in dirt, and his clothes were torn and ripped.

"We a need to just a climb these rocks and we a will be there a," Izaro said excitedly. Mahad found a good handhold and pulled himself up. Swinging his other leg over, he rolled onto the grass. He stood up, dusted himself off, and looked ahead. His jaw dropped instantly.

"Mahad, what's—wrong…" Dahlia stood next to him.

They both stared in awe at the vast never-ending expanse of shimmering blue waves. They could just barely see a line of trees off in the distance.

"Do a you like?" Izaro asked. Mahad could only stare, mouth agape. "I've never seen so much water in all my life," he said finally.

"Ah, yes a. The gods of a water like a space. So a do their friends the a tree spirits. The a tree spirits—" "We'd both love to hear about the tree spirits, but we want to explore first, okay?" Dahlia asked. Izaro flashed them a smile. "Very a well."

Dahlia suddenly grabbed Mahad's arm and pulled him off to a cluster of trees.

"What?" he said, ducking under a thick branch. "Mahad, there's no way all of that water is legal," she whispered to him. He nodded nervously.

"And these people obviously don't work for the Sphere." Dahlia shook her head in confusion.

"What I don't get is how they've managed to hide a lake for all these years. The Sphere has to have discovered it by now." "But why would they just abandon all of this water?" Mahad said.

"I don't know, Mahad."


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five 

Woohoo! Chapter five is OUT! This isn't the final chapter. I'm just excited to have it out! Okay, well, here it goes!

_I really can't think of a song line for this chapter…_

Lena was relieved to find that Mahad and Dahlia were alive and safe. He had managed to contact them with the Hyperion's radio. He did mention, however, that he wouldn't be able to return home on his own, because of severe engine damage, but he did manage to give Cortes the coordinates of Nohanel Panua. They planned to leave the next day.

Lena was overjoyed when she heard this wonderful news, but her happiness soon faded when she remembered Evora. She hadn't bothered to tell Cortes about Evora's memories. She didn't need to. Cortes was stressed enough as it was, and she knew that mentioning it would only make things worse.

He was unsure of the danger he would be putting the citizens of Puerto Angel in if he left at a time like this. Evora had escaped in one of the mosquitoes, and had undoubtedly given the coordinates to Oslo by now. Perhaps if the Saint Nazaire wasn't present when Oslo arrived, he would just assume that he had been given the wrong coordinates, Cortes thought. Hopefully, Oslo would be gone by the time they returned. Hopefully…

* * *

Mahad leaned back onto a tree. "A celebration?" he echoed. Izaro nodded. 

"It a is the day a we say thank a you to the gods and a celebrate their a generosity," he explained. Although his explanation didn't entirely make sense, Mahad understood the celebration.

"Our friends should be here tomorrow afternoon. I suppose we could stay for the celebration," Dahlia said. "Good. I am a glad to hear it a."

After Izaro left, Mahad sighed with relief. Finally, after spending almost a week with barely any food and water, and an annoying man who couldn't speak English and wouldn't stop rambling about gods, he would get to go home. Although Dahlia had enjoyed her stay a little more than Mahad, she was relieved to finally be able to go home as well.

But Mahad and Dahlia both knew that they couldn't just leave this place and forget it existed. For whatever reason, the Sphere hadn't noticed the lake yet, or had abandoned it. But why would they abandon so much water? Surely there wasn't anything preventing them from taking it.

There was another question. How had this place been isolated for so long? Why didn't the Sphere try to take control of this block as well, or why didn't travelers come and visit? Mahad and Dahlia would never have guessed the truth…

* * *

Dahlia heaved another heavy stone over to the fire pit and set it next to the others around the empty fire pit. "Phew!" she said, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "That's the last one," she told Mahad, who was at work putting a wooden table togther, hammering away noisily as he did so. 

The Panuans had tools and equipment, but no machinery. According to Izaro, there were three reasons that they didn't use technology: The gods forbid it, they didn't have anything to work with, and of course, none of them understood how to build even the smallest machine.

"Dahlia, could you pass me that wrench?" Mahad asked. She picked it up off the grass and tossed it to Mahad. "Thank you," he said.

Dahlia decided to go ask Izaro what to do next. "We a would greatly appreciate a it of you a would please do a this… Do us a favor a, and a go a and a fill this bucket with water. Then a set it a on the table Mahad a has built."

Dahlia took a small wooden bucket from Izaro and rushed to the lake with it, anxious to see the vast endless sea of ripples and waves again. When she reached the lake, she ran to the shore and froze, shocked yet again by the sheer beauty.

She bent over and slipped her boots off, throwing them in the sand behind her. Dahlia stepped into the water carefully, as if afraid that it would hurt her. The coldness startled her at first, but she didn't mind. Everything was so sharp and clear, amazingly beautiful. The feeling of water gently brushing against her bare ankles, and the soft sand under her feet was so soothing. She looked down to see millions of snakes of light from the ripples dancing and darting around. Seeing it all made her want to stay forever.

Dahlia scooped the bucket into the water, allowing the water to flood in and fill it to the brim. Out of curiosity, she held the bucket up to her face and began to drink the water. The moment the water touched her lips she pulled back. It was bitter and disgusting. Nothing is perfect, Dahlia reminded herself.

But the lake was more than just water to her. It was something special, something to hold onto. Something the Sphere wanted to take away.

"Why," she said to no one. Her whisper seemed to disappear into the lake. Moments later, an unusually large wave brushed against her leg, as if the lake itself had carried an answer to her question. The words came to mind so suddenly, so sadly. The Sphere used water to gain control of the world, and soon enough, when they had complete control, they would find something else to use against them, like trees, or land. They wanted to suck the earth dry of its life and richness. Dahlia found it hard to imagine the place where she was standing now, cold and dead. The water would be gone, leaving nothing but dry grayish sand and whatever had rotted under the lake for thousands of years.

Dahlia suddenly realized that she wasn't fighting the Sphere just for freedom. She was fighting for the sake of her own planet. She somehow doubted that Oslo and his cohorts would ever bring peace. They would only bring harm and destruction. And that's why she had to fight—to keep this world together, to prevent it from falling apart any more than it already had.

* * *

"A so. Are you a enjoying our a celebration?" Izaro asked Mahad, who was stuffing his face with some delicious beef and noodle casserole. He nodded, swallowing the mouthful of food. He hadn't eaten anything other than berries, buts, and whatever small fruits he could find since they'd crashed. Dahlia laughed a little, and shook Izaro's hand.

"Thank you for all your help," she said. Izaro grabbed onto her hands and touched them to his forehead. Dahlia gently pulled back, slightly confused by his unusual and awkward way of saying, "You're welcome."

A little girl maybe a few years younger than Lena suddenly ran up to Mahad and Dahlia and began frantically waving her arms up and down and babbling in Panuan.

"She a wants you a to join her in a the traditional a dance," Izaro said. Mahad and Dahlia followed her to a small circle, where many others were gathered. Some of them were their age, and some were barely old enough to walk.

They all joined hands and began to jump around in a circle, kicking their legs out and singing merrily. Mahad and Dahlia weren't sure what to do, but they tried to sing along and dance with them anyway. A man sat behind them, beating some sort of drum with his hands. When the dance ended, their clothes were coated in sweat. Izaro approached them, smiling broadly.

"Now is a the time that we a speak with the a gods and a spirits," he explained. Dahlia and Mahad sat down next to several other teenaged boys and girls. They all chattered away noisily in Panuan, which was irritating, because neither of them understood a word. All of the seijins in the village sat in a line in front of them. Some of them were old and had brittle gray hair, and some were so young they could barely speak. Izaro sat down next to Mahad and Dahlia.

"I a am going to a translate what a Hizeah says to a you," he explained. A tall man with a white beard approached the fire pit and threw a lit torch into it. The entire thing burst into flames. The heat of the fire prickled at Dahlia's skin, so she backed away a little.

Then, a younger man, maybe in his early forties, passed through the circle of people and stood in front of the fire. He bellowed something in Panuan, and Izaro quickly translated. "A good evening, my friends a. We are a gathered here to a celebrate a the life the gods have a given us, and thank a them for their a generosity and a gifts."

Mahad normally would have groaned or made some sarcastic remark, but this was going to be his last night in Nohanel Panua, so he tried to enjoy it.

"We a are glad to welcome our a two new a friends, Mahad and a Dahlia," he said, patting them on the back. Everyone focused their attention on Mahad and Dahlia. "We a believe that a they, along a with many a others, can help us a to defeat a the dark ones. A spirits, gods a, we a ask for you're a protection in this a difficult time a." Dahlia frowned. "Dark ones?" she whispered to herself. There was a moment of pure and utter silence, except for the sound of the crackling fire.

The man in the center, Hizeah, suddenly closed his eyes and began to hum, low and steady. Everyone joined him. Mahad and Dahlia opened one eye occasionally to see what was happening, but as far as they could tell, they were just humming.

Hizeah suddenly opened his eyes and turned to face Dahlia. He lifted a small bowl off of the grass. It was filled with a strange blue paint-like concoction. He dipped his index finger in it, then bent over in front of Dahlia until his face was just inches from hers.

"A safricay alatrostiva," he said slowly and quietly, as if he didn't want anyone else to hear. He gently ran his finger along her forehead.

"The a symbol of safricay," Izaro said, shocked and excited for her at the same time. "Follow a him," he whispered to her.

Dahlia stood up and followed Hizeah as he led her to the nearest hut. He pulled the dry grass curtain open and let her enter first.

Two men stood next to a small wooden chair. They gestured for her to sit down. She took a seat silently, waiting for one of them to speak. The man on the left handed a bowl to Hizeah. The liquid inside was deep auburn red this time, and smelled of mint and pine.

He held it under her nose for a few seconds. The smell suddenly became strong and acrid, like artificially scented perfume. A numbing sensation ran through her body instantly. Everything around her grew hazy, and her thoughts were soon fogged over by sleepiness. Her neck suddenly rolled to the side and her body went limp. Hizeah smiled broadly and grabbed onto Dahlia's hands, pressing them to his forehead just as Izaro had. He left the hut.

One of the men walked around behind Dahlia and grabbed onto her arms, and then the other grabbed her legs. They carefully pulled her off of the chair and began to carry her out of the hut. She wanted to scream, to cry out in protest, but her lips refused to move. She had been paralyzed.

* * *

Mahad drummed his fingers worriedly. Dahlia had been gone for ten minutes and hadn't returned. He thought he saw Hizeah leave the hut, but that was all. There was no sign of Dahlia whatsoever.

"What are they doing with Dahlia?" he asked Izaro nervously. Izaro frowned.

"Preparing a her for the a safricay," he said, as if he had expected Mahad to know. "And what is safricay?" Izaro raised an eyebrow. "Well, a we have a asked the gods and a spirits for a protection, and any a time we ask them for anything, a we must give a them something in a return," he explained. Mahad shook his head, suddenly understanding.

"You mean they're _sacrificing _her?" he exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. Izaro shrugged. "Again, I a do not know the a terms you prefer." Mahad continued to shake his head back and forth in disbelief.

"Look!" Izaro suddenly shouted, pointing to the right. Everyone was turned that way, watching intently. Mahad slowly turned around to see the cliff over the lake. He could make out the shapes of two men carrying a girl. "No," he whispered. They began to swing her body back and forth at the edge. Then, the let go, and Dahlia flew over the edge and plummeted down. The water exploded upward as she hit. Everyone stood up and began to cheer and sing in Panuan.

* * *

Dahlia was terrified, watching as the water rushed up to meet her. She hit with a cold hard slap. The icy water pressed against her on all sides, as if trying to suffocate her. For a moment her head was submerged, and she could see swirling bubbles and a rippling surface, but then her head pulled up again. When she tried to breathe, her lungs refused to expand. She began to choke and cough uncontrollably as her lungs struggled to force out the water.

_ I'm drowning, I'm drowning, I'm drowning… _The words repeated over and over again in her head, but somehow she found them hard to believe. A feeling of dread tore its way inside of her, then hardened in her stomach. This was truly the end.

Dahlia suddenly noticed something very strange about the water. It was all moving towards a certain spot in the lake, which she couldn't see. She managed to poke her head above the water for a second to see what was causing the water to change direction. It was all swirling in a clockwise motion, like a whirlpool. A small tree branch suddenly disappeared into the center. Then, the noticed the faint outline of something circular and round, like a pipe. And that was exactly what it was.

She felt a strong tug on her body as she neared the semi-transparent plastic tube. Her hip suddenly scraped on the side of the pipe as she was forced into it. The suction pulled her down, down, into the rushing water.

For a moment she was slipping and sliding through nothing but darkness, feeling her body tilting and twisting at odd angles, the water rushing under her and forcing her down. This lasted for at least fifteen minutes. Finally, she came to a point where the pipe curved upward a little. She rolled over to a spot against the pipe where it rose up at a right angle. Underneath her was a metal grid. The water drained through it swiftly, leaving rocks, pebbles, and sticks behind.

Dahlia's lungs began to beg for fresh air as they forced a mouthful of water out. She lay there for what seemed like an eternity, cold, shivering, coughing. She expected to lie there until—until what? Until she woke up and realized this was all a crazy dream? Or until she starved to death? A rumble in the pipe wall next to her startled her into full consciousness. She jerked her head up, wondering why the wall had rumbled. Suddenly, two pieces of the wall slid open, revealing short narrow shaft. She began to slip from her place on the grid, and then, Dahlia tumbled into darkness.

* * *

"Dahlia! Dahlia!" Mahad called. Izaro reached a hand out to grab him, but he ran off before he had the chance. He ran from the shore and into water until it was practically up to his chin, calling her name frantically.

He had never learned to swim. Of course, there had never been enough water. But he had seen swimmers from the twenty-first century on old video tapes, before the earth had split apart. It seemed so simple.

Letting his feat lift off the sand, he began kicking violently and jamming his arms into the water like the swimmers. He made it about ten feet away from the starting point when he fell under the water.

Mahad angrily made his way back to shore, where Izaro waited.

"Mahad, a listen. You're a time will a come. You a will soon a be able to a join her. When a we need a safricay again, we a will send a you," Izaro said comfortingly. Mahad snorted and stormed away furiously.

He was going to go back to the usual hut and sit down, try to think of a way to save Dahlia, but then he noticed a large wooden plank just ahead of him. He grabbed onto the heavy piece of wood and ran back to the shore, and then tossed it into the water.

"Wait!" Izaro cried, running after him.

Before he reached the shore, Mahad was in the water, clinging to the wood and paddling away. The wood made it easier to swim, but every now and then, it would slip away from him, and he would have to grab onto it before he sunk under the surface. In thirty minutes he had barely made it one hundred yards from the shore. He gave up finally, stopping to rest on a rock.

He clambered up and wrapped his arms around his knees, shivering and shaking violently with cold. He fought back tears. Dahlia was dead. Dead. Dahlia was dead. He somehow found the words hard to believe. She had been so full of life and energy, had been so strong. He couldn't picture her lying dead at the bottom of the lake, unmoving and—dead. Even if he made it to the cliff where she had fallen, he realized, it would be too late. She was gone and there was nothing he could do about it.

He cursed Izaro under his breath, burying his face in his hands. He decided that thinking about it was too painful, so he focused on the sounds and smells of the world around him. There was a gentle breeze, and insects began to buzz loudly as the sun made its way further and further down, leaving the sky dark and cold.

It wasn't until he heard a high-pitched whirring sound that he opened his eyes and looked up. At first they looked like an approaching flock of birds, swiftly making their way towards him, until he realized that they didn't flap their wings, and the upper halves were too big.

"The Sphere!" he cried, squinting to get a better look. Several patrollers were headed in his direction.

He leaped into the freezing water once more and flattened his body on the board, kicking his legs behind him wildly. By the time he reached the shore, the patrollers had already passed overhead. They were landing in the village.

Mahad ran with all his remaining strength to the village to see several brigs exiting the patrollers. Many people cowered in their huts, while others hid in trees and bushes. He suddenly felt something grab his arm and nearly screamed.

"A Mahad!" Izaro hissed, pulling him close. "We a must be quiet a. The a darklings will a hear you," he warned. Mahad raised an eyebrow. "Darklings? Wait, what do you mean?"

"The a darklings have a come again." "Again?" Mahad exclaimed. "You mean they've been here before?" Izaro nodded solemnly. "They a oppose the gods. They a come once a every moon cycle and kidnap one of a our spirit a people." Mahad groaned.

"Where do they take them?" he asked. Izaro took a moment to ponder the question. "To the a dark kingdom on the a other side of the island a," he answered. Mahad groaned again.

Apparently, the Sphere had known about this island for some time.

"Yes they a—Mahad?" Mahad wasn't listening anymore. He was staring ahead fixedly, his eyes wide. He watched as a young woman with long blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and a black Sphere uniform exited one of the patrollers.

"Evora," he growled, suppressing the sudden surge of fury and the urge to leap out and attack.


	6. Chapter Six

Oh boy! Chapter six! Sorry about that… just got a little too enthusiastic there… Anyway, this is chapter six. How many more chapters will there be? I have no idea. Here the plot changes a little bit, but I promise I'll try to stick to the main theme. The next few chapters involve characters being separated and lost, illusions, blabbety-blab-blab, and much, much, more. Sorry, I'm hyper today, in case you haven't noticed. Just a heads-up, hyperness+me+fanfictiondying, suffering, and/or endangered people.

Chapter Six

Dahlia hit a hard stony surface, stumbled to her feet, then lost her balance and fell down to the mucky floor as she crawled blindly through the darkness. A horrible smell filled her nostrils as she came close to a wall, so she backed away and crawled in another direction. Then, steadying herself to her feet, she looked around. She heard a click, and dim yellow light filled the room.

She was in a square cell that looked as if it hadn't been cleaned since it was built. The floor was covered in what looked like strips of moldy wet paper. Every corner of the room reeked. A man lie in one of the corners, fast asleep and clutching an old cracked skull to his chest. He had a long tangled brown beard, but hardly any hair. His clothes were tattered, torn, and stained with blood and grime. There was a tall door at the back of the room. Dahlia could see rust along the edges and the bottom.

"Where am I?" she wondered aloud. The man suddenly jerked in his sleep and whispered very softly, "Lilly." He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at her, trembling and shaking.

"What are you doing? How did you get in here?" he asked. Dahlia looked up at the hole in the ceiling where she had fallen from. "I just fell through there," she said. The man sighed. "Another sacrifice," he muttered.

"Did you fall from there too?" she asked. He shook his head. "But she did," he said, holding up the skull. Dahlia backed away. The man laughed.

"Don't worry, you probably won't end up like her. They'll probably let you go, and if you're lucky, they might even offer you a job." Dahlia frowned. "Who?" she asked. The man gave her a look.

"The Sphere. Who else?" Dahlia's stomach clenched with fear. "What do you mean, where are we?" she asked.

The old man didn't respond. He had fallen asleep. Dahlia realized the horrible truth. She was in prison.

* * *

Mahad watched as Evora reached forward and grabbed Izaro by his left arm.

"Who's the sacrifice today?" she asked. His eyes were wide, his expression fearful. "A young a woman named a Dahlia. And a also, we a are planning to a sacrifice her a friend, Mahad." Mahad smacked his forehead. Izaro had just given him away. Evora's face brightened a little.

"Mahad and Dahlia. This should be—interesting," she said with a soft laugh.

Mahad quickly darted out from his place in the bushes and ran for Evora's patroller, hidden from view. She had left the door open, assuming that the Panuans wouldn't dare go near it. She wasn't expecting him to come, of course. He crouched down behind a tall metal box at the back of the patroller and held his breath. Evora entered moments later and closed the doors behind her, shutting out all outside noise. Mahad watched as she took a seat and started to mess with the controls.

Moments later, the ship roared to life and lifted off the ground. It ascended at least fifty meters off the ground. Mahad felt something like a shockwave hit him and throw him backward as it shot forward. Luckily, the wall was just behind him, so he didn't fly into Evora's field of vision, however he did make a loud grunt as he banged against the wall behind.

She suddenly stopped and turned around to face the crate, narrowing her eyes with suspicion. She shook the feeling off and turned back to look out the window.

They had left just in time. They could hear a low rumble in the wispy, ominous, gray clouds. Thunderstorms were blessings if they carried rain, but dangerous and risky, especially if you were outdoors and unprotected. In just a few minutes, heavy sheets of rain were pouring down. Luckily, the ship was on autopilot, so Evora didn't need to see.

Mahad kept silent the entire time, praying that she wouldn't sense his presence, wouldn't notice him. He tried not to stare at her, but it was hard to avoid, seeing as how there was very little space between the two of them. Finally, the patroller stopped and descended to the ground. Evora pulled an umbrella out of a small case next to her. She ran her hand along a small panel, and the door slid open. The deafening sound of crashing rain and howling wind filled his ears. Then, it slid shut. She was gone.

Unsure of what to do next, Mahad stood up. He could barely hear the sound of Evora's voice through the door. She said, "I'll get the supplies." Mahad froze and frantically glanced back and forth. She was probably going to take the metal box. Without thinking, he opened the lid, stepped inside, and lowered himself in, avoiding being jabbed and poked by metal parts and tools. Dread swept over Mahad. He knew that eventually, someone would open the box and see him, and he would be captured, but he needed to stay hidden as long as possible, even if it was pointless. As he expected, the door opened again, and someone—or something—took the box and carried it away.

Mahad assumed it was brigs, because no one groaned or complained of the box's abnormal weight. He felt the box touch ground again, and expected the lid to open any second—but nothing happened. He sat for what seemed like hours, but was only ten minutes, waiting the dreaded moment that someone would open it and see him. Finally, he dared to push the lid up and look out.

He was in a dark, empty hallway. The floor was made of black marble, the walls of metal. The only light in the entire hallway came from a small row of lights on the floor alongside the walls. They cast a creepy blue glow that made him feel uneasy. And then, he noticed the insignia on the wall above him. The Sphere insignia.

* * *

"We're almost there," Cortes said reassuringly to Lena. She longed to see her brother's face again, to hug him tightly and wrap her arms around him. Although he had only been gone for a week, it seemed like years. Finally, after waiting so long, she would see him again. She was also excited to see Dahlia again. Dahlia was almost like a big sister to her. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped when she noticed Cortes's confused expression.

"Where is it?" he said to no one, looking ahead at the thunderstorm. "Did you ever consider that it's maybe hidden behind all those clouds?" Lena asked. Cortes pondered her question for a moment, drumming the fingers of his left hand on his leg. He sighed heavily. "Maybe you're right."

After being battered by wind and rain, the Saint Nazaire finally made it through the storm. The ship landed in a clear patch of earth. Many villagers ran from their huts and watched curiously as the pirates exited the ship. Izaro ran up to Cortes and shook his hand.

"A hello. I am Izaro a," he said. "Where are Mahad and Dahlia?" Cortes asked. Izaro sighed.

"A Dahlia was a sacrificed, but the a dark ones took a her. I a think Mahad has been taken by the a dark one's as a well," he said sadly. Cortes was fuming with anger. "You _sacrificed _them?" he demanded furiously. Izaro took a step back.

"Only a Dahlia." "Who are these "dark ones"?" he asked. "Some of a them are made a of metal. Some of a them are a spirit people," Izaro explained. "And where are Mahad and Dahlia now?" Cortes hissed.

"The a dark castle a just beyond the a water kingdom."

* * *

"Good morning," the old man said, sitting up and stretching. Dahlia approached him slowly, as if afraid that he would suddenly jump up and attack like a rabid animal. "Have they taken you for questioning yet?" the man asked casually. Dahlia paused before answering.

"No," she replied dryly sitting on a dry piece of stone next to him. He shrugged his shoulders. "Well. We might be spending a lot of time in here together, so I might as well introduce myself. I'm Thomas Nithan. And you are?" Dahlia hesitated before answering him. "You can trust me," he urged.

"Any enemy of the Sphere is a friend of mine. I'm Dahlia." She reached over and shook his wrinkled bony hand.

"Nice to meet you, Dahlia. What a pretty name. So familiar…" There was along pause before either of them said anything.

"Where_are _we?" Dahlia asked him finally.

"We're in an underground prison cell. I know you must be very confused. I'll start from the beginning so hopefully you'll understand. I used to be a teacher at the guardian academy. When I told Oslo I wanted to quit my job, he was furious. He banished me and sent me to this island, where I met the Panuans. For years now, the Sphere has been taking water from the lake and having it taken here for treatment and storage. The reason why the lake never empties is because of the large amounts of precipitation they get each year. Every month, the Sphere drains about one thousand gallons of water through an underwater pipe. And every month, the Panuans make a sacrifice by throwing the person into it. Early on, several Sphere agents in disguise were able to convince them that that was the way the gods took sacrifices. They also managed to convince them that outsiders and newcomers made worthy sacrifices," he explained.

Dahlia raised an eyebrow. "But why would they want to capture anyone who happens to land on this block?" she asked.

"This block has a very strange orbit, and usually stays in areas of high temperatures and moisture. Most of the time, it is concealed by storm clouds. Also, it's in the outskirts of Skyland, where very few people dare to go. Usually the only people that land here are pirates and travelers. And, the Sphere will do whatever they can to capture pirates." Dahlia nodded, suddenly understanding.

"I tried to teach the Panuans about seijins and convince them that what they had been told about sacrificing was wrong, but the Sphere caught me, captured me, and brought me here," he told her. "How long have you been here?" she asked. "At least ten years," he replied plaintively.

Dahlia opened her mouth to say something, but the door screeched open. A young woman entered the room casually, smiling down at Dahlia. She balled her fists and looked up at her.

"Well, well, well. How the tables have turned." "Evora!" Dahlia hissed. Evora laughed softly and bent over in front of Dahlia. "It's nice to see you again. I missed you," she teased, squeezing Dahlia's cheek as if she were a small child. She jerked her head aside. Evora giggled, slapped Dahlia hard in the face, and stood up. The smile faded from her face when she looked down at Thomas.

"Master Nithan. Why do you still keep that old thing," she taunted, gesturing to the skull in his hand. He stood up and reached a hand out to grab her neck, but she used her powers to throw him back against the wall. "Pathetic," she said, sneering at him.

"Well, I don't have much else to say. Just thought I'd check up on you two. Have a nice day," she said, turning to leave the room. Dahlia suddenly realized how cold the cell was as the door slammed shut.

* * *

Lena itched her left arm uncomfortably and pulled at the black uniform. "Stand still, Lena," Cortes said, jabbing her in the side with his elbow. They stepped up to the front entrance and waited for the guards to respond. Apparently whoever owned this place knew that they needed real human security, not brigs.

"Evora sent us," Cortes said, silently praying that they wouldn't recognize him. One of the guards walked over to him and looked him over carefully. "You're not a guardian," he spat. Cortes froze inside. Had he seen through the disguise?

"You're not a seijin," the guard continued. "No. I'm not," Cortes replied. The guard shrugged and walked over to Lena. "She is. And a very powerful one."

"May we enter?" she asked. The guard sighed. "Very well," he said, gesturing to the door. The other guard opened the door for them and let them inside. It was even colder in the building than it was outdoors. "Now to find Mahad and Dahlia," Cortes muttered to himself silently.

They didn't speak at all, for fear that the hallways and rooms were bugged. Cortes suddenly realized how easy getting in had been. At first when Izaro described the "dark castle" to him, he thought that getting in would be nearly impossible. So they flew to the other side of the block, managed to hide the Saint Nazaire in a patch of forest, put on some old stolen Sphere uniforms, and persuaded the guards to let them into the facility. The plan had worked perfectly. Now they had to find Mahad and Dahlia, and make it out before they were caught…

* * *

Mahad quietly climbed out of the box. He took a step forward, then another. "So far, so good," he whispered to himself, feeling relieved.

There was a tall polished wooden door at the end of the hallway. He made his way over to it on his toes, then turned the knob and opened. It only led to another long hallway, with the same lights and insignias on the walls. But in this hallway, there were several doors along the left wall. Perhaps one would lead him to the exit…

He nervously grabbed the handle of the second door and pulled down. Suddenly, hundreds of metal parts jumped out at him, clattering to the marble floor noisily. He backed away, wincing, regretting opening the overstuffed closet. All of the metal parts seemed to go to something, perhaps a ship, or maybe a brig. When he looked up, he thought he noticed a faint red glow, like an eye, staring at him. It seemed to vanish. For a moment, he just stood and stared, petrified with fear. When nothing happened, he realized that he was just being paranoid.

Mahad picked up the fallen parts and stuffed them back in the closet, then closed the door quickly to prevent them from falling out again. But as he walked, he felt something strange inside, something that told him he had forgotten to close the door. He turned around to see it hanging open, its contents spilled out onto the floor. Never mind, he thought. He walked away quickly this time. He couldn't help but feel that he was being watched.

"No one's there," he whispered to himself reassuringly. But someone—something was there. Something was watching him. And that something wanted him dead.


	7. Chapter Seven

So. I've made it to chapter seven. And I am _still _going. When's the climax? I DON'T KNOW! Sorry. Shouldn't have had that can of coke. Hehehahehahehahahahahahahahahahaha!!! Okay. Sorry. Again. Here goes!

Chapter Seven

_I can't think of a song line. Doo, doo, doo… _

"She's my sister," Dahlia said.

"She _was_ my student," Thomas replied. She kicked the filthy wall in frustration, then finally gave up and sat down.

"What was she like? I mean, was she a good student? I bet she was the best in school," Dahlia asked after a long moment of silence.

"Actually, no. She wasn't a very good student at all. She misbehaved, attacked other students, even teachers when she was angry. And although they said that she was like that because of scarring, I knew that she really only did it because she knew she could. There was nothing she enjoyed more than finding an excuse to attack an adult. And what gave her even more pleasure was knowing that they weren't powerful enough to fight back." Dahlia frowned.

"So she's been power crazy from the start," she said to herself. "I knew that she would eventually try to fight Oslo. Of course, no one believed me. They all assumed that Oslo was the most powerful seijin and there was nothing that could change that. Oslo knew she would attack too. That's the main reason he agreed to be her personal trainer. He did whatever he could to make her see him as her master, not her toy that she could play with whenever she wanted." Dahlia was a little more than disturbed by this.

"How is it that she's so powerful? It doesn't make sense. Oslo has used several methods of gaining extra power. Evora's power is pure." Thomas bit his lip.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I do have a theory. You see, hundreds, maybe thousands of children are born every day. On average, thirty percent of them are born with brain damage or a mental disorder. Seijins, in a way, have a mental condition. Everyone has some psychic and telekinetic abilities. The average person just can't access the part of their brain that allows them to use them. Seijins, however, have an entirely different part of their brain, and they can use at least twenty percent of it." Dahlia shook her head in confusion.

"So you're saying that seijin brains are different?" she asked. Thomas nodded. "Yes. About five to ten percent of the children with mental disorders and conditions are seijins. And about two percent of them have exceptional power, like Evora. About every thirty years, a seijin like her is born. She can use all of her psychic and telekinetic abilities, whereas a normal seijin can only use twenty percent." Dahlia was having trouble following along. Her mind was fogged over with hunger, thirst, and the need to sleep.

"But the prophecy. She can't be the lady of light, can she?" she asked in confusion. "I'm not sure. It's doubtful, though. That kind of power will eventually corrupt her mind, and he body will no longer be able to function properly. She might not live to be thirty."

The thought of her sister dying so young made her very upset. If there were a chance for her to change—if there was a chance that they could possibly heal her—it would be too late.

* * *

"Do you even know where we are?" Cheng asked. Cortes shook his head.

"I don't," he said. "Maybe we should head back and try again tomorrow," Wayan suggested. Lena clenched her fists.

"We can't just leave them here! They could be killed!" she exploded. "Quiet Lena!" Cortes snapped. She froze and turned around. She had heard something. For a moment, she stayed behind.

"Come on," Cheng said. He stopped, turned around, and walked over to her. "What's wrong?" he asked. "I don't know. I don't think we're alone in here." She took a hesitant step forward, then another.

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight of red flashing lights and the sound of a blaring alarm. Lena saw a piece of floor rising up, along with a piece of ceiling sliding down, like the jaws of an enormous metal creature.

"Cheng! Lena!" Cortes cried, jumping forward. But he was too late. In a matter of seconds, a new wall had risen out of the floor, separating them. "No!" Cheng yelled. He rushed forward and began beating the metal wall with his fists, but nothing happened. The alarm stopped, and the red lights stopped flashing. Now they were alone again in complete silence. _Lena…_

"What?" she asked, looking back at Cheng. He raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say anything." Lena shook her head. "But you did. I heard you," she protested. Cheng made eye contact with her.

"Lena, you okay? Your pupils are…" Lena suddenly crumpled to the floor, her body leaning against the wall.

"Lena!" he screamed, rushing over to her. Her eyes were wide and her pupils were so large they completely filled her irises.

* * *

"_Get inside the house, Lena," Mila said worriedly. Lena passed by the brigs, suppressing her anger. She entered the house, set the box of old things down on the floor, and went to her room. She flopped down onto her bed lazily, staring at the ceiling. For a very long time, nothing happened. Finally, after thirty minutes, her mother stormed into the house and slammed the front door behind her. _

_ Lena jerked up from the bed and went to see her mother. Mahad stamped his left foot on the floor. "Why don't you stand up to them?" he demanded furiously. Mila sighed and turned her head away. "I can't. I'd be putting us all in danger. Maybe someday when you're off living on your own, but until then, I have to do whatever I can to protect you two," she said. Lena closed her bedroom door, realizing her mother wasn't in the mood to talk. _

_ She went up to her old bookshelf and pulled down a small photo of Mahad and Lena as children, standing next to their mother. They looked so happy, so content. _

_ There was a sudden bright flash. Lena pulled back and closed her eyes. When she opened the, again, the picture no longer showed her family, but a strange man with a red ponytail. There was another flash, and the picture was back to normal. A single word rang clearly in her head like a bell: Cortes. "How weird," she murmured, setting the picture atop the shelf once more. _

* * *

Mahad crept alongside the wall silently, trying to stay calm. Every time he opened a door, it just led to some strange office or closet, or another hallway. It didn't help that he was completely alone with no one to tell him or warn him if someone was approaching, or that the lights in this particular hallway didn't work. And all the while he felt as if he were being watched and followed. _By what? _He asked himself mentally. Surely if a guard were stalking him, he would have chased him down and threatened to shoot him. Brigs were loud and noisy. He would have been able to hear them. So what was following him? The thought sent shudders down his spine. Maybe he was just paranoid. Maybe not…

The sound of approaching footsteps made his heart leap in his chest. He grabbed his boomerang and continued to walk with is back pressed against the cold metal wall. Just ahead was a corner. The footsteps were slow and steady, as were his. Obviously whoever was after him was trying to surprise him. _I'll surprise _**them**, he thought with a silent laugh. Finally he reached the corner. The person on the other side stopped walking, and was panting heavily.

Mahad leaped out and attacked. His "pursuer" screeched loudly and struck him in the face, then tripped and fell backward to the floor with a thud. Mahad leaped on top of him and pinned his arms down, holding the boomerang up threateningly. He could just barely see the boy's face.

"Mahad? Get off me!" Cheng said. Startled, Mahad pulled away and let Cheng up off the floor.

"Sorry. How did you get here?" he demanded. "Izaro told us the whole thing. And based on what we've heard, the Sphere has been hiding this lake and taking the water for over fifty years." Mahad stared, mouth agape. "_Fifty_?" he exclaimed. Cheng nodded.

"Why are you in a Sphere uniform?" "Long story. I—wait! Lena! Mahad, come with me!" he yelled, pulling on Mahad's arm. "Lena? What's wrong with her?" he asked. Cheng shook his head. "I'm not sure."

He led Mahad through a door on the right wall. Cheng gestured to the wall where Lena had fallen, but there was nothing there. He froze and frantically glanced back and forth. "Where is she?" Mahad asked worriedly.

"W—well she _was _right there!" Cheng exclaimed incredulously.

* * *

"You're pretty smart for someone who's been locked up for ten years," Dahlia said. Thomas shrugged his shoulders.

"I've had a lot of time to think here. That's all I ever do anymore. I hardly remember how to use my legs."

Dahlia began to wonder if she would end up like him; old, hungry, slightly insane, sleeping with the skull of a deceased friend. The very thought of it made her shudder. She had to get out of here. She _had _to.

The door suddenly opened, and even the dim hallway lights were enough to make her squint. Someone threw two small metal trays in the room, and then shut the door again. "Dinner!" Thomas said gleefully. He ran forward and grabbed something off of the tray. Then, without hesitation, stuffed it into his mouth and ate every bite down to the last crumb.

"What is it?" Dahlia asked. "Bread," Thomas nodded. He grabbed a piece and tossed it into her lap. She lifted it up. With strained vision, she was able to make out the shape of something square, with several dark blotches. She rubbed one of the dark spots, and regretted it the moment she did. It was mold.

"Is this edible?" she said incredulously. Thomas nodded his head. "After having only one meal every two days for ten years, this is a treat. Can you believe it? They fed me two days in a row!"

Now Thomas sounded like a small child. Dahlia reluctantly lifted the crumbly moldy bread to her mouth and took a bite out of it. It tasted like rotten fruit, the texture like sand. At least the bread they had given Evora was _edible. _Dahlia reminded herself mentally that she might never leave. _Better get used to it._

* * *

The door slid open with a soft hissing sound. "Ah, yes. Lena," Evora said with satisfaction. She clasped her hands together as the Nast laid the unconscious body on the cot in the corner.

She had named it after the man who programmed it for her, Henry Nast. She knew that the very minute Oslo discovered it he would insist on taking it away for "testing" and never return it. So she kept it hidden, and only used it when necessary. And now it was necessary.

"Nast. Now, that you've brought me the girl, I have another task for you. I want you to find these people," Evora said, showing the strange machine holographic projections of the pirates. "When you find these two, disarm them, render them unconscious, and bring them to me. When you find these two, kill them," she ordered.

The Nast rolled itself into a tight ball and reactivated its camouflage, then quietly rolled out of the room. As long as Lena was occupied with the illusion, her plan would carry out smoothly. Evora glanced over at Lena, unconscious on her back. She couldn't help but smile. "This is going to be fun."

* * *

"I'm worried about Cheng," Cortes said to Wayan nervously. It had been twenty minutes, and he was sure that by now something had happened. "And Lena," he quickly added.

"This place is like a maze," Wayan said as he walked through the hallway. "Where do you think they would keep prisoners?" Cortes asked. Wayan shrugged. "I don't know. Mahad and Dahlia could be _anywhere._"

"It doesn't help that Cheng and Lena are missing now too," Cortes said. Wayan sighed, shaking his head. He reached forward and pulled open another door, expecting to see just another hallway. But instead he saw a long narrow stairway that seemed to go down forever.

They exchanged glances, and, reading each other's expressions, cautiously made their way down the first ten steps. The door automatically closed behind them. _Strange, _Cortes thought. Wayan's shock blaster barely provided enough light to see the next few steps ahead of them. Eventually they began to wonder if this was a trap. The stairs kept going straight down, straight down to—what? Wayan suddenly realized that the ground was completely flat.

They'd reached the bottom. He could just barely see what looked like a door ahead of them. He was about to walk ahead and open it, but he heard a noise. It was soft and barely audible, like something large and heavy rolling across the floor.

"Cortes," Wayan whispered. "I hear it too." They held their breath for a moment. Suddenly, Wayan felt his shock blaster slip out of his hand. He jerked around, but nothing seemed to be there. "My—"

"Shotgun!" Cortes interrupted. They turned around and froze in horror. A creature stood before them, large and threatening, with metal arms protruding from all sides. They could make out the shape of a scanner on the side of its perfectly round head. At the center of it's head was a single red light.

Without warning, it swiped an enormous metal arm at Wayan. Its claw-like fingers caught on his clothes and tore through them as he dodged. Cortes ran back to the stairs.

"Try to get the other door open!" he yelled. Wayan dodged another swing and, half-crawling half-squatting, made his way to the door. He fumbled for the knob nervously. But when he found it and pulled on it, it wouldn't open. "Cortes, it's locked!" he called up. Cortes growled in frustration. "So is this one!"

* * *

_"Mahad! No fair! You cheated!" Lena said. Mahad rolled his eyes. "No I didn't. You're move," he said. _

_ Lena pushed the chessboard away and sighed. "Never mind. I'm getting bored anyway." She stood up, but Mahad stopped her before she could leave the room. "What's wrong, Lena?" he asked. She pursed her lips and turned to face him, still mentally debating whether it was the right time to tell him or not. _

_ "Mahad… I've been having these weird—visions lately. Like, I'll just be standing here, and then I'll see a flash, and everything changes. And I keep seeing these weird people I don't even know." Mahad frowned, then shrugged. _

_ "It's just paranoia. Believe me, I used to have the same problem," he said reassuringly. Lena was confused. _

_ "__But you're not a seijin," she said to him. He laughed. "I didn't mean all the flashes. I just meant seeing weird things and people you don't know, and feeling like you're forgetting something. It happens to everyone, Lena. Really," he said. _

_ Lena sighed and left the room. Not even her brother understood. Maybe her mother would. Lena knocked quietly on Mila's bedroom door and waited for her to come. "Yes?" she asked. Lena pulled the creaky wooden door open and entered her mother's bedroom. _

_ "Mom? I have to talk to you," she said. Mila sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to her. "I—I've been having weird visions and seeing flashes of people I don't know. Yet I feel like I remember them from somewhere. What's happening?" Mila frowned and shrugged, just as Mahad had. _

_ "It's just paranoia. Believe me, I used to have the same problem when I was your age." Lena shook her head. _

_ "Mahad said the exact same thing. The _**exact**_same thing." Mila's smile faded. Her head jerked to the side. _

_ "Mom? Are you okay?" Lena asked. Mila suddenly turned to face Lena. _

_ "I'll go make dinner," she said in a strangely sweet voice. "Wait. You never answered my question." _

_ Mila turned her head to the side. "Take my advice. I suggest you try relaxing a little. And don't ask any more questions about this," she said in a voice that didn't seem her own. _

_ "Why?" Lena asked. Mila didn't seem to hear her as she left the room._

* * *

"Ergh… Lena," Evora muttered. Someone suddenly entered the room.

"Evora, I—"

"Shut up! Can't you see I'm trying to concentrate?" she exploded at the guard. He backed away.

"Sorry. I just came here to tell you that—"

"I don't have time for this! Ergh! Ah! Come on!" she hissed through gritted teeth.

"Didn't the light chamber work?" Evora turned to him, her face contorted with fury. "Yes. It did."

"Is it still working?" the guard asked. "Does it look like it's still working?" growled Evora. "I've barely got enough light to last me three more hours." The guard bowed his head.

"Sorry, miss. Anyway, I—"

"Shut up and get out of here!" she yelled. He didn't hesitate to run from the room.

Her head ached horribly as she probed her mind for answers and created the images for Lena. Somehow she was able to maneuver herself through the illusion effortlessly, as if it were a maze and she had already walked through it several times. She knew very well that as she grew weaker, Lena grew stronger. If Lena managed to break through the illusion… She felt a sudden burst of pain in her head, as if part of her brain had exploded, and cried out loudly. "I'll keep you down, Lena. I will."


	8. Chapter Eight

Yay! Chapter Eight! After recovering from a severe case of writer's block, I managed to do it. Get ready to see a whole new part of my mind, in which characters are put through crazy situations and have to go to crazy extents to do CRAZY things! Yay! I promise I'll stay on track, though. Well, seeya later then!

Chapter Eight

_No song line._

"I can't believe I lost her!" Cheng exclaimed, more sadly than angrily.

"Neither can I," Mahad shot back rudely. Cheng buried his face in his hands.

"Why would she just—walk off?" Mahad said to himself, not to Cheng. He answered anyway.

"I don't know. I'm pretty sure if someone came we would have heard them. Do you think she's sleepwalking?" asked Cheng. Mahad shook his head.

"I seriously doubt she'd be able to open doors and stuff while she's unconscious." With a sigh, Cheng leaned against the wall.

"So. Where do you think she is?" he asked.

"Do you think we'd be sitting here wondering where she is if we knew?" he snapped. Cheng turned his head away.

"Sorry," he murmured sadly. It felt terrible, knowing that this was his fault. If he had just stayed with her, she wouldn't have gone missing. "Well. Standing around isn't really going to help us find her," Cheng said quietly. Mahad rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Let's go," he said harshly. Cheng began leading the way through the hallway.

"Pick a door," he said to Mahad. Mahad looked at the doors carefully and selected one just a few feet away. They emerged into a large room. Before them was a large shelf, stacked high with strange cylindrical metal objects.

* * *

"Wayan!" Cortes yelled. He dodged yet another swing from the creature. Still, it continued to chase after him and follow him. It stopped swinging its massive metal arms. For a moment it just stood and stared at him with its single red eye. All of a sudden, it rolled into a ball and began to head right for Wayan. He quickly jumped to the side and ran for the stairs. Just in time, he leaped up to the third step and continued from there. All the while the machine kept trying to force its way up the first step. It didn't take long for it to switch back to normal form. The machine bounded up the stairs after Wayan and Cortes.

Light suddenly flooded into the room from behind them. They turned and saw a man with a mop and bucket, who seemed equally shocked by the creature.

"The Nast!" he yelled fearfully. Cortes and Wayan quickly jumped out of the room and rolled to the floor in the hallway. The machine—the Nast—lunged forward and grabbed the custodian by his neck, having mistaken him for Cortes or Wayan. They leaped to their feet and ran into the nearest room as quickly as their legs would carry them. The Nast dropped the man, "realizing" that he wasn't the target. It rolled along the floor and into the nearest room. And then it detected the heat of two bodies.

* * *

_ Mila patted Lena on the back. "I need you to stay inside today," she said. Lena looked up at her questioningly. _

_ "__Why?" she asked. Mila turned away. _

_ "I think you need to rest. You'll probably feel much better if you do," she said dryly. Lena frowned. _

_ "I'll be fine. I feel fine. I haven't seen one of those flashes in a few hours and—" _

_ "Ssh. Go to your room and take a nap, okay?" she said soothingly. Lena reluctantly went to her room and laid down on her bed, but did not sleep. Why did her mother want her to sleep so badly?_

* * *

"Lena. Sleep. Sleep," Evora begged. The pain in her head was unbearable now. Any second, any second… The pain struck her in the head like a sledgehammer, hard and fierce, and she rolled out of her chair and onto the floor, crying out in agony. Lena closed her eyes and fell asleep. Evora quickly released herself from Lena's mind, feeling the tendrils of memory slipping away, detaching. All at once the exhaustion and sleepiness swept over her like a soft warm blanket. Her eyelids seemed to be held down by weights. Her body seemed to be glued to the floor. The world went in and out of focus, lights to dimmed and brightened, and it felt as if the floor were spinning and tilting. She forced herself to stay awake.

Finally, she stood up and went back to her seat. She decided to check up on the Nast. After typing a set of codes and passwords into her computer, the screen displayed a large image showing the Nast's location.

It was in a room at the north end of the facility, and there were two people which she could not identify standing nearby. From what she could see, the Nast was tracking them, so it had to be two of the pirates. "Good," she said aloud. "At least it's doing its job."

* * *

"For the last time, I'm sorry!" Cheng apologized. Mahad was still upset with him for losing Lena. He didn't respond. He just kept walking forward and exploring the strange room. He stared curiously up at the shelf and pulled down one of the cylindrical objects.

"This is weird. I wonder what it is," he said to himself.

"I don't know. What is it?" Cheng asked. Mahad gave him a look, one that made him feel stupid.

"Do you think I would be asking if I knew what it was?" he shot back. Cheng looked at the floor.

"Look, I'm sure we'll find Lena eventually. She couldn't have gone too far."

"Don't you get it? Evora is here. If she finds Lena, there's no telling what she'll do to her." Cheng stopped and shook his head.

"Evora's here?" he said incredulously, then groaned. "I don't think things can get any worse, Mahad."

Cheng was wrong. He realized that when he noticed a dark silhouette at the back of the room. "Who's there?" he called. The person—or thing—didn't reply, only stepped forward. A single red light blinked on where its head was, and Cheng realized it wasn't human. "Mahad," he hissed. They both began to slowly move away. The Nast suddenly charged, recognizing them. They didn't hesitate to run.

Mahad whipped out his boomerang and held it in the air threateningly, but the Nast didn't seem to notice. It swung one of its massive metal arms at him. The arm struck him hard in the hand, causing him to drop his boomerang.

"Cheng, get out of here!" he yelled. Although he felt bad for leaving him behind, he ran to the back of the room, flung the door open, and darted through the door, leaving Mahad alone and unarmed to fight the machine. Mahad sprinted to the other side of the room as quickly as he possibly could. Instead of chasing him, the Nast just stood, facing him but not moving.

Suddenly, green light shot from the head of the Nast. Mahad barely managed to dodge the blast. He could feel the heat of the energy prickling at his skin even through his clothes. When he looked down, he noticed that a large piece of his shirtsleeve had been burned off, leaving the rest charred and black.

He backed away and avoided being singed by yet another blast and another after that. Soon enough, he had backed against the wall next to the shelf. There was nowhere for him to run, nothing he could do to protect himself. He took another step backward, and hit the shelf, knocking the strange objects to the ground. The Nast aimed carefully but stopped at the sight of the objects. It ran a red scanning light over one of them, and suddenly scrunched into a tight ball and rolled away and out of the room.

Shocked, Mahad reached down, grabbed one of the items off of the floor, and held it up to eyelevel. A small blue light at the back was flashing repeatedly. He left the room slowly and went out to the hallway to see Cheng cowering in the corner.

"Mahad!" he shouted. "You're alive." Mahad frowned and held out the strange item. Cheng's eyes widened.

"Why is it flashing?" he asked. Mahad gulped. The object began to vibrate.

"I'm not sure, but I have a very bad feeling about this."

* * *

"I'm losing my mind!" Dahlia exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Haven't you ever considered making an escape plan?" she burst out. Thomas avoided her eyes.

"Yes. I've had one for years. But…"

"But what?" He looked at the floor solemnly.

"I made the plan with Lilly." Dahlia rolled her eyes, not out of annoyance but out of confusion.

"Who is Lilly anyway?" she asked, trying to lower her voice so she wouldn't seem so demanding and rude.

"She was sacrificed, like you were. When she came down here, she told me her story, that she was a pirate, that she had tried everything to fight the Sphere. I fell in love with her. Then one day the Sphere took her out of the cell to experiment a strange chemical on her designed to trigger seijin powers—and it ended up killing her. They let me keep her skull, perhaps as a way of taunting me." Dahlia sighed.

"I'm sorry. I—shouldn't have been so rude."

"It's all right. It's just, we made the plan together, and it's going to be hard, escaping without her. You have a boyfriend?" he asked. Dahlia blushed and turned her head away.

"Not really. Well, I wouldn't call him my boyfriend, but…" A smile broke across her lips as Thomas began to laugh. After a long moment of silence, she spoke again.

"So anyway. Are we going to get out of here or not?" she asked. Thomas clasped his hands together.

"Yes," he said. "We are."

* * *

"Excuse me!" someone called after Wayan and Cortes. They stopped and turned around slowly to see a young woman in a black uniform, crossing her arms disapprovingly.

"What do you two think you're doing?" she said. Cortes gulped. "Get back to the kitchen!"

Cortes raised an eyebrow. He assumed this was a water plant, not a mansion for high-ranking guardians. The woman gestured to the door next to her.

"Well, go on," she said. Exchanging worried glances, the entered the kitchen. The overwhelming smell of onions and garlic hit them like a shockwave. Cortes winced and tried to keep his eyes from watering. The chefs, of course, didn't seem to notice the powerful stench.

Unsure of what to do, Cortes stood over at one of the counters next to a man who was chopping away at a carrot. He didn't seem to notice him. Cortes grabbed a stalk of celery from the counter beside him, took a knife out, and began to chop it slowly. His pieces were jagged and unequally sized, but he continued anyway, seeing as how he didn't have anything else to do.

Wayan decided to take a spot just a row ahead of him. Someone dropped a chicken in front of him and gave him instructions on what to do and how to prepare it.

"Cortes," he whispered back. He looked up. "I don't know how to cook." Cortes flushed.

"Neither do I," he said in embarrassment. He had never really cooked. Most of his meals came from the tavern, so he had never really taken the time to practice his cooking skills. And now he regretted it. Someone blew a whistle loudly.

"Switch!" they yelled. The man next to Cortes moved over to the next set of counters, so he followed. There, several other chefs set down trays of chicken soup, white rice, and bread down in front of them. Each tray was labeled with a name. The tray Cortes happened to receive was labeled, "Evora."

Something inside him twisted as he saw the name. He glanced back and forth, then looked down at the tray again. The people in the room behind them were washing dishes. And one of them had left a bottle of dish cleaner on the counter in front of him. I shouldn't, he thought, trying to push the idea away. But it burned at him from the inside, like a stubborn flame on the wick of a candle that kept on relighting itself.

He took the bottle of dish cleaner, and when no one was looking, unscrewed the plastic cap. The liquid inside was perfectly clear, and, to his advantage, almost odorless. When he was positive that no one was watching, he tipped the bottle and poured a little of the liquid into the bowl of steaming soup.

"Excuse me," he said to a woman standing nearby. "I have to leave right now, would you mind taking this to Evora for me?" he asked.

She grunted and rolled her eyes, but stepped forward and took the tray. "Whatever," she muttered, leaving the room. Cortes could not believe what he had just done.

* * *

Evora began to focus on Lena, but her thoughts were interrupted when the door opened. She pounded her fists on the table furiously. "I need privacy!" she barked.

A woman with red hair and green eyes entered the room and set a tray of food down in front of Evora. She turned and left the room.

Evora stared down at the chicken soup and rice. The bread on the side was even buttered. "All right," she muttered to herself. She took the spoon on the side of her tray and scooped a little of the still-hot soup into her mouth. It tasted of chicken, vegetables, and something strange that she couldn't quite identify. But, all the same, she finished the soup and pushed the rice and bread away like always, then went back to concentrating.

After fifteen minutes of complete focus, she felt something odd, like a headache, but not. Her vision began to blur. Evora shook her head to push the feeling away, but it only became stronger. "Weird," she murmured. Her thoughts seemed to be clouded over now. Simple things seemed confusing. With all her willpower, she forced herself into Lena's thoughts again.

Something tingled at the back of her mind, and all of a sudden, the room went dark. Evora suddenly slumped over in her chair, her head hanging loosely on her shoulders, her pupils large.

* * *

_Evora fell, fell down through the black emptiness. The darkness seemed to swallow her as she fell. She tried to cry out, but she was frozen, frozen completely. A thought occurred to her. Was she really falling? Or was she just hovering in absolute darkness? It didn't matter to her. She was unsure of where she was. She was unsure of why she was there. She was unsure of whether she was alive or not. _

_ Her back brushed against something soft and her body lowered to the ground, gently as a feather. Everything was completely silent, except for the sound of her soft quick breaths. She heard a sound, as faint and quiet as a whisper. The ground suddenly shook, and began to tear apart underneath her. She wasn't afraid. She wasn't worried. The ground tore away from her, as if to escape her, to run away from something putrid and vile. She began to fall again, or maybe she was only imagining it. Maybe she was really going up. Maybe she was going down. Whatever happened didn't matter. _

_ Then, she noticed a small white speck ahead of her. It grew larger and larger, until it filled her vision completely. It was light. It reached out to her, drawing her close. Vines of it wrapped around her body, like snakes. Gripping her tightly, they slowly pulled her inside. For a moment she just hovered there in the empty white void. The quickly faded until it formed a picture. _

_ She was outdoors in the cold, surrounded by towering walls, freshly cut hedges. Lena stood beside her, and began to run. "Hey, come back here!" she called after her. Lena didn't seem to hear. _

_ Evora began to chase after her, feeling the stingingly cold wind biting at her cheeks and nose, flipping her hair back behind her. Everything was strangely silent. She turned a corner, ran down a straight pathway, and turned left at the next corner, only to see a dead end. _

_ "I'm getting ahead of you!" Lena called loudly, her voice echoing off into silence. The thought dawned on her clearly. Evora was in a maze. And Lena was trying to make it out first._

* * *

"Cheng! Run!" Mahad yelled. He grabbed onto Cheng's wrist and pulled him away, throwing the object to the floor.

"What is it?" he cried.

"I think it's a bomb." Mahad was right. As soon as they turned the corner they heard an unbelievably loud boom. The earth underneath them shook and bounced violently. They both fell to the floor and held onto each other for a moment, then let go when they realized it was safe.

Mahad stood up and peeked around the corner. His jaw dropped. The ceiling and walls were completely caved in. Clouds of dust rose above the piles of twisted metal and plaster.

"What was that thing?" he said. "I'm not sure, but I think it might be trying to kill us," Cheng said.

"No, it doesn't want to kill us. It just wants to chase us around all day. Of course it wants to kill us!"

"Hmm… But why? I mean, do you think it's like the Mogura?" Mahad shook his head.

"No. The Mogura wanted water. This thing is trying to kill us. I think someone sent it after us." It wasn't hard for them to guess who had sent it after them.

"Evora," Cheng whispered. Mahad nodded.

"Come on Cheng. Let's get out of here before it comes back." T

hey walked through the maze of hallways for what seemed like hours, but was really only forty minutes. If Cheng could find a computer, he could possibly find out where Dahlia was being held, and maybe even find Cortes, Wayan, and Lena. Of course, there was something else that they couldn't keep off their minds.

"I think the bomb is what made the thing run away," Cheng said. They now referred to the Nast as, "The thing." They didn't call it a robot or a machine. It was too strange and bizarre to be considered a machine. It was a monster. A monster made of metal.

"I think you're right. Maybe we can go back and grab another one, in case the thing comes back," Mahad suggested. Cheng was about to agree with him, but stopped and groaned, "But there's no way to get back in there. The ceiling caved, remember?" Mahad sighed.

"Let's just keep looking for a computer. Maybe if you find one it'll have some information on the thing." Cheng nodded and continued to walk in silence.

* * *

"Do you see that rock over there?" Thomas asked. Straining to see, Dahlia leaned forward and stared ahead.

"Yeah," she said after a few seconds.

"When the guard comes in to take our old trays and give us new ones, I'll take mine, hide in the corner, and refuse to give it to him. While he's distracted, you take the rock and hit him over the head with it. Then, we steal his keys and any weapons he may have with him and run away," he instructed. Dahlia nodded.

"Good plan," she said, although she thought it was a little too simple. She leaned back against the cold stony wall and realized that this would be the last time she did so. She wanted more than anything to escape. But as time wore on, she began to worry that no one would come.

"Do they always take this long?" she asked. She expected Thomas to reply with a, "Yes, always," or a, "Most of the time," but instead he frowned and shook his head.

"No. Not usually," he said. Dahlia suddenly felt very uncomfortable leaning against the wall. They would come eventually, wouldn't they? Wouldn't they?

Finally, after hours, she fell asleep there with her back against the wall, having given up on waiting for a guard to enter the room. She slept for what may have been hours, but she wasn't sure, because there were no windows in her cell. She eventually came to, rubbing her eyes and yawning and stretching. Thomas was still awake, sitting by her, holding his tray.

"Good morning. You ready to get out of here?" he said cheerily. She forced a smile and sat up, her back aching in protest from being pressed against the uneven stony wall for hours. She drummed her fingers on the floor impatiently, waiting, waiting, waiting for someone to come. Although she was expecting it to happen at any moment, the sound of the door opening and the bright light that flooded into the room startled her. Thomas clutched the tray and looked up at the guard, his mouth hanging open.

"Food," he mumbled. Obviously not amused, the guard scowled and grabbed for the tray, but Thomas pulled it out of his reach and scampered to the corner like an animal. The guard groaned and ran over to him, then began to reach for the tray.

"Give me the tray, and I'll give you more food," he grunted. Thomas hissed at him.

"No! It's mine! I've had this for years! I'm not giving it to you!" he yelled. For a moment Dahlia actually believed that he was insane.

Distracted, the guard didn't notice her tiptoeing across the room and grabbing the rock. He was kneeling down in front of Thomas, wrestling the tray away from him. Dahlia quickly dropped the large heavy stone on his head. He suddenly fell and hit the floor with a soft thud, his head striking the hard stones, knocking him unconscious.

"Well, that was easy," Dahlia said. Thomas and her bent over the guard and began searching him. Neither of them found any weapons, but Thomas found a ring of keys attached to the man's belt.

"You keep searching him for weapons," he said to Dahlia, standing up. She shoved her fist into one of the guard's pockets, then stopped and turned around to see Thomas standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

"You'll only be slowing me down, Dahlia." His voice was cold, as was the expression on his face. She shook her head in confusion, then stood up to follow him. He grabbed the door handle and pulled it shut.

"No!" she cried, running forward. As she neared the door she heard the muffled sound of jingling keys. She grabbed the handle and forced it down, but the door refused to open. "Come back!" she screamed.

Silence. The darkness seemed to burn into Dahlia's veins, as if to taunt her, to remind her that she would never escape.

* * *

_Everything was completely silent except for the sound of twigs and leaves snapping and crunching under Evora's feet as she ran. Walls of green towered above her, closing her off from the rest of the world. She wondered if Lena was ahead or behind. She couldn't tell. As far as she could see and hear, she was the only person in the area. Or so she thought… _

_ She suddenly noticed a soft whirring sound coming from far away, and turned around. She could see many dark shapes above her, all coming closer. "Patrollers. Finally," she said to herself. _

_ There was a sudden bright blue flash, and before she could comprehend, bursts of red and yellow spurted up from the hedges, smoke rising in the air. _

_ "They're shooting at me!" she said incredulously. Within a matter of seconds, the fire had spread, and was now hungrily consuming the hedges in front of her. Evora's lungs protested when she breathed in the smoke, heaving and begging for fresh oxygen. _

_ "What is this!" she screamed as she ran. A thought suddenly occurred to her. All of her most recent memories flashed before her eyes, and it all became clear. _

_ She had been trying to force herself into Lena's mind, after eating some very—unusually flavored—soup. Then, she had lost consciousness and awoken in a dark void. Now, she was in a maze—and this maze was all just a dream. _

_ "I'm in Lena's dream," she thought aloud. If Lena made it out of the maze first, she would awake and escape. If Evora made it out, she would be able to have Lena locked away before anything else could happen. Of course, she had to make it out first. _

_ "I'm coming Lena!" Evora screamed furiously. The fire was far behind her, but still gaining with every second. Tendrils of smoke escaped into her lungs occasionally, choking her and causing her to stop. Finally, she managed to escape the fire. Running was simple now. She rarely ran into dead ends, and when she did, there was always another path or a fork nearby. But she wasn't expecting the ground in front of her to suddenly disappear…_

* * *

"Okay, so do you have any idea where they would keep a computer. I mean, there has to be one, right?" Cheng asked.

"Yeah, how else would they run all the machinery?"

They had gone through door, after door, after door, only to find empty rooms, offices, storage closets, and hallways. They were both tired and frustrated, but they knew they had to keep searching. But until they found something or someone, the only thing they could do was talk.

"I'm scared," Cheng said as he looked up at the Sphere insignias on the walls. "This is the kind of place that belongs in nightmares." Mahad looked away.

"I'm scared too, Cheng," he admitted. "Lena's gone, Dahlia's imprisoned, and we have no idea where Cortes and Wayan are. At least I still have my boomerang."

Cheng doubted that the boomerang would do them any good, but decided it wasn't worth telling Mahad. He thought he heard footsteps from behind, but when he glanced back to see for himself, nothing was there. Mahad suddenly gasped.

"Cheng! It's the thing!" he screamed. Cheng quickly turned around again to see the Nast less than twenty feet away from them, all arms spread out and held up. Cheng bolted for the door, Mahad following behind him. The nearest door was taller than the others, and made of steel. Cheng grabbed the cold handle and pulled the door open. Mahad leaped into the room with him, nearly knocking him down in the process. He quickly regained his balance and latched the door shut behind him. Then he turned around to observe his surroundings.

They were in a large room with a high ceiling and low floor, standing on a deck over a massive pool of simmering steaming water. Several pipes and tubes ran down from the ceiling and into the water, while others stretched horizontally from one wall to the other. Mahad stared wide-eyed and amazed. He felt his heart flutter with sudden fear and excitement at the sound of a heavy thump on the door.

"It's trying to get in, come on," Mahad said. He scanned the room with his eyes in search of some means of escape, but there didn't seem to be one safe route, or any route for that matter. However, there was a way to the door on the other end of the room. Just below the deck a large pipe stretched to the other side of the room, and ended right under another deck.

"Cheng. I need you to watch me and do what I do," he said.

He pushed himself up onto the metal railing, swung one leg over, and then the other, until he was on the other side lowering himself down to the pipe. His foot touched metal, and he let go of the railing.

"Mahad, are you crazy?! There's no way we can get across that thing!" Cheng exclaimed.

Mahad scooted his left foot forward, just barely making it an inch from his starting point. "There's no other way. Just get down here, I'll help you!" Cheng cautiously pushed himself over the railing as Mahad had. Mahad gripped his hips tightly and gently pulled him down.

"See. That wasn't so bad," Mahad said, panting. He began edging across the pipe once more, holding his arms out like bird wings to keep his balance. Cheng barely made it four inches in ten seconds. By then, the Nast was pounding into the door and smashing it in.

"We have to hurry!" Mahad called back to Cheng. He didn't bother turning his head to look at him. He could only focus on the deck ahead of him. There was a sudden strong vibration, and a cry from behind.

He whipped his head around to see Cheng, hanging onto the pipe for dear life, his feet dangling just above the boiling water. As quickly as he could, he slid over to Cheng and knelt down.

"Grab my hand!" He shouted. Terrified, Cheng reached up and gripped Mahad's wrist with a sweaty hand. "Now take the other one." Cheng shook his head.

His mind was swimming with thoughts of fear and pain, his heart was pounding so hard he thought it would burst, and his arms and hands ached as he struggled to hold on. "I can't do it!" he squealed. No matter how he tried to let go, his hand refused to move from the pipe, as if it had been glued there.

"You can! Hold on!" Cheng slowly pushed himself up a little higher, and let go of the pipe. For a moment, he felt his fingers brush against Mahad's other hand. Then the world flipped backward, and he found himself dangling over the boiling water by three sweaty fingers. He was so close to the surface that sizzling drops of water jumped out and hit the hem of his pants.

"Mahad! Help!" he whimpered. His middle finger slipped from Mahad's grasp, leaving him with only two to hang on by…

* * *

Okay, that's the end of chapter eight. I love cliffhangers, but hey, if you think this is a cliffhanger, then wait'll you read chapter nine. Someone dies! smiles evilly Well, I'd better get to bed now. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Bye! 


End file.
